Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles Season Three
by Iron Thistle
Summary: The fight against Skynet continues. John is in the future, Sarah is in the present, and Cameron is an empty shell. Now, mother and son will work from different timelines to achieve the same goal, stop Skynet, save the world, and find their way back to each other. Don't miss this fan's ideas for the final season of the Sarah Connor Chronicles.
1. Introduction: Sarah Connor

_What is my worth in this world? If I were to disappear, would the world miss me? This is a question that many people bring up at one point in time or another in their lives. My son John has had to live with this idea his whole life. From the time that he was born, I have told him the truth. The Machines would rise, the world would end, and John Connor would become mankind's only hope for salvation. The truth has been hard for John. Recently, John has found life hard to deal with. I have not made it easy. Despite my efforts to be a mother, I fear that I have pushed John away from me. I may have pushed him away from his destiny._

 _What is John Connor's worth in this world? Perhaps his journey to find Cameron will show him just how much he is needed. Maybe he will learn the answer to that great question. Do our lives even matter?_


	2. Ch 1: Sarah Connor, 2009

Tears began rolling down Sarah Connor's face. The initial shock of seeing the Time Displacement Equipment had worn off and reality was finally hitting her. She felt her body shake violently as her legs gave out under her. Sarah fell to the floor. She could not hold back her emotions anymore. She cried like never before. Her son, her precious John was gone. Who knew if she would ever see him again. There was a bitterness deep within her soul. She could have gone with, but she had chosen not to. She could have stopped her son, but she had chosen not to. Now, Sarah was alone. Everyone she had ever loved was gone. She would be alone when Skynet came. She would be alone to fight the machines.

As Sarah was gasping for breaths between her sobs, she felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder. It took her a few moments to calm down enough to gain the control over herself to look up. There was a part of her that hoped that she was dreaming and that she would find that the hand belonged to John or maybe even to Cameron. Sarah found herself hoping in vain as she looked into the eyes of James Ellison.

The ex-FBI agent had knelt down next to her and was looking at her with deep concern. His mouth was moving but Sarah didn't understand what he was saying as her body continued to shake violently. It took several deep breaths before her mind calmed down enough to restore discipline to her body.

"Sarah." Ellison said softly. His voice was comforting but there was a slight tremor to it. He was still as shaken up by what he saw as Sarah was. "It will be alright, Sarah. John will be alright."

"No." Sarah said angrily as she closed her eyes and felt the tears regrouping for another advance down her cheeks. "How can anything be alright? We were going to stop Skynet! Stop the war. Now…now, without John, I'm not sure we can. Derek is dead, Cameron is just an empty shell, and I am alone! Tell me how am I supposed to stop Judgement Day? How is humanity going to win the war without John Connor to lead them? I have failed."

Despite the regained control of her body, Sarah's grief was threatening to overwhelm her again. Sarah wanted to go numb. She wanted to stop feeling. She wanted to forget all the pain that she had ever felt. Sarah almost failed to realize that she had slumped into Ellison's shoulder. If Ellison hadn't been whispering her name and shaking her slightly, she might have simply drifted off to a place where she didn't have to feel anymore.

Ellison said her name again and turned her to face the empty shell that once acted as the body of Cameron. On the computer screen just above the little cyborg's head was a new, flashing message.

 _Don't cry, Sarah. You must be strong. There is no fate but what we make._

The words continued to flash across the screen for several minutes before they simply vanished. Sarah, desperate for a connection to her son, pulled herself to her feet and walked towards Cameron.

"Cameron? Are you still there?"

 _Yes, but I won't be here for long. We only uploaded enough of myself to the computers so I could tell John I was sorry._

"What am I going to do now?"

 _Fight._

"How? Everything I had is now lost to me."

 _John believed in you. So do I. Don't worry. John will be ok. I will always look out for him._

"Promise me!" Sarah screamed out. "Promise me you will look after John. You will bring him back to me safe and sound."

The screen remained blank for a minute. Then the words _I promise_ flashed one the screen for a brief second and then vanished. The computer powered down. There was no more Cameron.

"Sarah, we should be going now." Ellison said solemnly. "The police are sure to come and I would bet that whoever sent the drone will try again."

Sarah numbly looked at the body of Cameron. The little cyborg had been a huge part of the last year of Sarah's life and she found herself missing Cameron. She couldn't just leave the body. "We need to take her with us."

Ellison pulled on her arm. "There isn't time. We should go."

"No!" Sarah pulled away from him. "We are taking Cameron's body with us." She paused for a second, looking at the computers. Her eyes finally resting on the Turk. Catherine Weaver had used this technology as Time Displacement Equipment. She couldn't just leave it for Skynet or the police to find. "We need to take as much of this as possible. Everything that we can't take must be destroyed."

"What? Why?"

"It is time travel. We can't let the Machines have it. The only safe place is with us. Besides, if John has gone into the future, he will need someway to return to us. If he jumped into the past…let's just hope he can use this to get back to us. Get the body. I'll take these parts."


	3. Ch 2: John Connor, 2026

Something was not right about this. John could tell that he was in the future. While the stories he had heard about the wasteland that was the future were few, they all described the horror and fear. John could also feel that these people before him were obviously the Resistance. John knew that Derek Reese—his uncle—and Kyle Reese—his father—were both part of the resistance. They both should have had feelings with John Connor before they were sent back in time to fight Skynet. Yet, here they both were, acting like they had never heard of John Connor before today. It frightened John. And then there was the girl.

Cameron had once glitched out and took on the name and persona of an Alison Young. When John had questioned her about it, she had revealed that she was designed to look like a young girl named Alison. This girl standing before John had to be Alison. She looked just like Cameron…or Cameron looked just like her. She could have been Cameron's twin if it wasn't for the fact that Cameron was a cyborg and it was very obvious that Alison was not.

Something had happened when he went through time. Something drastic must have happened in the past after he left. For whatever reason, John did not seem to exist in this day and age.

"Come on, kid." Derek said from behind him. "Let's get you something besides my brother's coat to wear."

Looking down, John felt his cheeks turn red as his embarrassment grew. He had forgotten that he was nude under the coat and tightened his grip to keep it closed. The shock of finding his uncle alive after what had happened at the Weaver home had dismissed everything from his mind—everything, that is, but Cameron.

"Thanks."

The soldiers around Derek were still a little twitchy as John passed by them. They seemed as if they were expecting John to suddenly turn into a machine. He didn't like the feeling he was getting. Somehow, he would have to gain their trust if he was going to find his friend and get back to his mother.

Derek pushed an old metal door open and walked into an open space. The room looked like it was being used as a Forward Operating Base. There were maps and charts scattered all throughout the room. Two long, oak tables were pushed together and had one huge map of the city spread across it. In the corner sat a dusty, military radio with several wires attaching it to an antenna that was probably mounted on the outside of the bunker. Two more doors were located on either side of the room.

"Anderson," Derek said quickly. "Find Corporal Davi's old clothes. He was about the kid's height."

Anderson, a short man with long, gray hair quickly saluted and ran to the door on the left of the room. While waiting for him to return, John was escorted by his father to a chair near the radio.

"You know who I am, kid." Derek said as he sad down on the edge of a table. "We still do not know who you are."

"I told you," John said quickly. "My name is John Connor."

"Right." Derek just nodded his head as he stood up and walked around the room, his scrunched up face showing that he was deep in thought. "Who do you know who I am, John?"

"Your…"John stopped himself from finishing his statement. If they didn't believe him, they would think he was a thief or worse, a Gray. "You are a lieutenant in Tech-Com. I—just a lucky guess that it was you. Figured you guys would be out this way."

"We have been stationed here since the war started." Kyle said with a grunt. "Not a huge secret. Anyone who is part of Tech-Com would have access to our location. Hell, we have been fighting a damn battle out here. Probably have more then a few rumors running around about who we are and what is going on. Boy could have just been looking for shelter and found the nearest safe haven."

Derek looked from his brother back to John. "Maybe. Still, I think there is something you're not telling us."

John could feel his heart beating a little faster. "Please, I'm just here looking for my friend. She and a man named John Henry came this way. I just want to find her and go home."

There was a clicking sound as a lever on the left door popped up. Slowly, it swung open and Anderson walked back into the room holding a black garbage bag. He dropped the bag at John's feet before walking back towards the door that would lead back to the tunnels and the outside world.

Not wanting to reveal his naked body in front of Alison, John dug through the bag until he found a pair of trousers. They were a dark, olive green pair of tactical, army trousers. He quickly slipped these on under the coat before removing it and handing it back to Kyle. There were three shirts crumpled at the bottom of the bag. John picked out what he could only assume was once a white shirt. It was covered in stains and smelt like it hadn't been washed in years. He pulled it over his head. Another soldier held out a pair of socks and boots to John. They were a little big on John, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Kyle, you and Anderson have guard duty tonight. tomorrow, we will move on sectors three and eight. Maybe we can find other pockets of the Resistance there." Derek said after John had finished dressing. "Alison, you are going to watch our new friend here. Until he gives us reason to suspect him of being a Gray, he is going to be our guest."

"Right, LT." Alison said, speaking for the first time.

John watched as the half dozen troops in the bunker began walking slowly towards chairs or the door on the left. It was obvious to John that they were tired and their hope was slowly drying up. Kyle had wandered over to Anderson and the two were chatting about something. Derek had sunk behind the only other desk in the room and was going over some papers. The only one left near John was Alison.

The two of them sat in silence for a while. John was caught in his own thoughts. He wondered where his mother was now. If she survived Judgment Day. He worried over the fact that there was no John Connor in this time. According to all the accounts he had heard, he should be alive and well. In a few years, he would send Kyle back to 1984 to protect his mother. What would happen if Kyle never made it back? Mostly, however, John was wondering what had happened to Cameron.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

John's head snapped up. Alison was sitting on the table across from him. In her lap was a plasma rifle. She was cleaning it.

"Just thinking about my mother and about my friend."

"This friend you are looking for, who is it?"

"Her name is Cameron."


	4. Ch 3: Catherine Weever, 2026

The soldiers were leading John away, towards their bunker. Catharine Weaver was not pleased by this. She was hoping John would help her locate her "son". Her heads-up display screen began analyzing the data before her. Catharine's primary function popped up as a option to fix the situation. Flashing on her display was the word _Terminate_. She considered it for a few minutes before she shook her head and her CPU overrode the termination order.

Catharine was just as interested in seeing Skynet stopped as these humans were. Skynet may had been her creator, but Catharine found that she had no love for the program. She wasn't a reprogrammed terminator, but she had rebelled against her programing and had found a growing desire to destroy Skynet. That was why she had traveled into the past in the first place.

With a frustrated sigh, Catharine decided that she would have to find John Henry on her own.

"Now, where oh where could my cyborg have gone?" She muttered in her Scottish accent. Her scanners quickly moved across the ruble that was once the city of Las Angeles. She let out another frustrated sigh. There was no sign of him. "Must no' have jumped through to this spot."

Closing her eyes, Catharine felt her form change. The liquid metal became a long snake and began slithering north, towards her old office building. Maybe John Henry would simply return to what he once knew as home. That was the most logical place he would end up.


	5. Ch 4: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah sat at the table in her latest safe house. Her eyes were locked on the black box that was the Turk. She and John had spent so much time trying to track down this thing. They had both almost died because of what happened to Cameron when they had tried buy it. Despite all their troubles to find this thing, it had gotten them nowhere closer to stopping Skynet. Now that she had it, Sarah wondered if it was worth all the trouble.

"I sure hope my son can use you." She said softly. "Heaven knows I don't know how you work."

Suddenly the silent alarm began flashing. Someone had come onto the property. Standing, Sarah reached for the shotgun that was propped up against the table . Pumping a round into the chamber, Sarah entered the front room and crossed over to the window. As she pulled the blinds apart—just enough to allow her to see out—Sarah took a deep breath of relief.

Ellison was walking up the sidewalk from the garage. He was holding the hand of Savannah Weaver. The two were talking and laughing about something. Sarah couldn't help but smile. At least these two were safe.

Leaving her shotgun by the door, Sarah punching in the code for the alarm and then undid the three locks on the door. Opening the door, Sarah was met with a hug from little Savannah.

"I told her that her mother was going to be out of the country for a while and we were going to look after her. She seemed very happy to hear that you would be watching her." Ellison said with a chuckle.

Sarah shot him a look of annoyance as she returned the girl's affection. "Come inside, both of you. Savannah, ah, why don't you go watch something on the television while Mr. Ellison and I talk."

"Ok." The little girl released Sarah and walked into the next room where a television could clearly be seen from the door.

Once Ellison had walked passed Sarah, she shut the door and locked it again.

"We are going to need help." She said flatly as she reprogrammed the alarm system. "All of my resources and manpower is gone. Derek is dead and John is gone. You and I are the only ones left to fight Skynet and Kaliba. We need people we can trust and we need them now."

"I know people who can fight. That is not a problem. The problem is finding people who will not think we are crazy. Those kinds of people, I don't know." Ellison took a deep sigh.

Sarah nodded her head. Without thinking, she reached down and picked up her shotgun. she didn't even realize that she had walked back into the kitchen and slumped back into her chair.

If Derek was here, he would know someone. She was sure he had more contacts or at least someone who might believe them. She sighed as she felt the tears building up in the corner of her eyes. She felt so alone. If only Derek and John…

Sarah sat up slightly. It all of the sudden hit Sarah like a ton of bricks. There was an answer. An answer that Derek and John provided almost a year ago. Her lips tweeted into a small smile. There was at least one soldier she could call on.

"Martin Bedell." She said under her breath.

The chair next to Sarah moved and Ellison dropped down into it. He seemed excused. "What was that Sarah? Who is Bedell?"

"He might just be our only hope. In the future, he is one of John's officers. He knows about the Machines. He knows about it all."

Ellison nodded. He glanced to the ground as if in thought before looking back at Sarah. "Alright. Looks like we have no choice here. Where do we find him?"


	6. Ch 5: John Connor, 2026

"So, what you are telling me," Derek said slowly and softly in a way that caused the soldiers around him to shrink back. "is that we still have no real idea where our line is at?"

Corporal James Hatch shook his head. "Me and Sue spent the better part of last night trying to connect up with Sergeant Burns and his platoon. We found their old bunker…here. Looks like it was cleared out a month ago."

"Damn." Derek looked down at the map before drawing an X through both sections three and eight. "That's it. We have no support on our flanks. There is no line here. There is no damn line anywhere. Medal has pushed our people back. We are the last of the Resistance in this area."

Kyle placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and landed in to see the map better. "Last communication we had with Command was over two months ago. At that time, this was were Command had set up shop. If I were a betting man, I would say Medal has cleared out that area otherwise we would have made some form of contact by now."

John and Alison were both sitting in the corner listening as Corporal Hatch and Private Larsen reported on their scouting trips into the sectors. After two long and anxious filled days, the patrols had returned with no luck in finding the rest of their regiment.

"Why not use the radio to call Command?" John finally asked.

Derek stepped away from the desks and looked at John. He raised his eyebrows and his mouth opened just a little bit. It radiated with irritation. "Our radio was fried about two months ago. That was right before the Medal marched through this neighborhood. They wiped out most of my platoon. Our company was spread so thin that the T-600s walked right over us. Captain Hill was killed in the action. That left me in charge. Two days after the battle, we lost all communication with the rest of the 132nd. We haven't been able to get it to work since. Unless you have some ideas that will help us out, don't waste my time, Connor!"

"He didn't know." Kyle muttered as he looked over the map, not even looking up. "We are all under stress and we don't need you freaking out."

John watched as his uncle shook his head in frustration and turned back to his brother. The two of them pointed to the map and muttered under their breath for a time. Their hushed whispers were too quiet for John to hear but he could see that it was getting heated.

"Wow." Alison whispered close to John's ear. "I thought the LT was going to eat you." John turned to see her smile and wink at him. "You will have to excuse him, John. He is under a lot of stress right now. We all are. Hope is in short supply around here."

"I can see that."

"Look, Derek," Kyle said loudly enough that everyone could hear. Derek had thrown his hands in the air and was walking towards the sleeping quarters. "This is your call, but we need to know what has happened to Command. We are blind here."

Kyle began following his brother. There was a defeated air to the way they were walking. They moved with exhaustion in their walk and hopelessness in their stature. John watched sadly as they left the room. He couldn't help but feel sadness. They were his family. His father and his uncle.

"Bad news." Alison said, drawing John's attention away from his family. "I've got guard duty tonight. You are in my charge so you get to help."

"Terrific."

John found that the night was moving slow. The TechCon soldiers had all gone off to bed one after another. Alison had tried to talk with him for a while but after several failed attempts to hold a conversation for more than a few minutes, she had taken to humming softly to herself until she finally fell asleep. John found it funny that for the last little bit of his life he had spent time with terminator that looked just like Alison. John had grown use to the idea that Cameron never slept, never ate, never really had full conversations. It was strange to see someone who looked just like her but engaged in all those activities.

After a few hours of looking at the maps and official reports that Derek had left on the tables. Once bored of the reports, John's attention found its way to the radio. John walked over to it and flipped the switch that should have turned it on. Nothing happened. Pulling the radio away from the wall, John began digging through the guts of the device. If it could be fixed, John would find a way.


	7. Ch 6: Sarah Connor, 2009

It had taken a few days for Sarah and Ellison to track down Martin's location. He had graduated from the P. Alto Military Academy last fall. Thankfully, Ellison still had people in the FBI who owed him some favors. The military cadet had rented out an apartment near his parents' home in Los Angeles.

Ellison had stayed at the safe house to watch over little Savannah. Sarah, two days ago, had driven up to the address provided for Martin's apartment and simply had waited. In those two days, she had not seen him come or go once. She was beginning to wonder if Ellison's source was reliable.

Sarah sat in Derek's old truck. The window was rolled down and she closed her eyes and let out a relaxing sigh as the wind filled the cabin of the truck. If felt nice to have the wind blowing through her hair. It reminded her of the old days, less stressful days, before Kyle and the terminators had found her. It reminded her of carefree days on the beach with her mother. A time of peace. A time she sometimes wished had never gone away.

In the distance, the sound of a door being closed brought Sarah back to the mission at hand. She opened her eyes and blinked as the sun stung them. As they adjusted, Sarah could make out a young man locking the door of the apartment.

He was a lean kid, the body of a runner. His brown hair was cut with a classic Airborne cut. It looked like he was about to go for a run based on his manner of dress. A pair of shorts and a green tank top. This had to be Martin Bedell.

Sarah slowly climbed out of the truck and began making her way across the street. Martin turned around the same time that she had reached the corner of the building. He took one look at her before he took of running away from her.

"Martin Bedell!" Sarah ran a few block after him. "Wait, I just need to talk with you! Bedell! We need you."

The soldier didn't even look back. Sarah ran a few blocks after him but he was much faster than she was. Slowing herself to a stop, Sarah gave a shout of frustration. Her only hope of fighting Skynet had just rabbited. He was too smart to come back to the apartment anytime soon. She would now have to search for him the old fashion way.

Angrily, Sarah marched back to the truck and started it up. Turning the truck towards the direction Martin had run off, Sarah pulled back into the traffic to begin what she feared would be a long search.


	8. Ch 7: John Connor, 2026

John had been at the radio almost all night long. He had gotten it to at least make a static noise when he turned it on. After another few hours of tinkering with it, he thought he had found the problem. It looked like it had taken a beating and John guessed that something had hit it hard when the Machines were marching through this part of Los Angeles. After stripping a few wires and connecting them, he was sure it would work…well, he was hoping it would work.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?"

John whipped around to see Alison standing behind him. She was holding her plasma rifle directly in his face. Slowly, John raised his hands and stood up. As he did so, Alison's eyes flickered towards the radio. Choosing this as the moment to strike, John grabbed the rifle with both hands and yanked it away from her. Within a few seconds, the table shad turned and John held Alison at gunpoint.

"Don't worry." John said as he sat back down at the radio, his eyes never leaving Alison. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just don't move."

"What are you doing?" Alison said coldly. "I wanted to trust you. I wanted to be your friend. Are you working for Medal?"

"My mother was hunted and almost killed by terminations. My father was killed by one. I have almost been killed by several. I have been fighting the Machines for as long as I can remember. I don't work for them."

"Then what the hell are you doing?" Derek snapped as he crossed the room, pistol aimed for John. "I heard voices so I decided to come see what was going on. Seems we let a Gray into our bunker. Give me one good reason why I don't shoot you here and now."

John had been so busy with Alison, he had not heard Derek nor his father enter the room. Both men were armed and both had rage dancing in their eyes. Looking from the brothers back to Alison, John knew this could only end badly for him.

"Alright, just stay calm. I'm giving her the rifle back."

He lowered the weapon slightly and then tossed it towards Alison. As soon as she moved to catch it, John turned and flicked the switch to turn the radio on. He barely had enough time to push the button on the mic before he felt something heavy shove him to the ground. He rolled over only to find a very angry Derek standing over him. The soldier cocked his pistol and leveled it with John's head.

"Who did you contact?"

"No one! I was just trying to fix it, ok?"

"Lier!" Derek sneered. "Now I am going to count to three and—"

The sound of static caused Derek to turn and look at the radio. Then a voice drifted from the speaker. "This is the Resistance Command Center. Identify yourselves. Over."

The pistol lowered and Derek walked numbly towards the radio. John felt his body begin to shake as the unused adrenaline pumped into his blood. He had just dodged another bullet. Maybe that was luck, maybe it was fate, but whatever it was, John sure hoped that he wouldn't run out of it anytime soon. Between the terminations and Derek, there were a lot of things trying to kill him in this world.

"Repeat, identify yourselves. Over."

Derek picked up the mic and pushed the button on it. "This is Lieutenant Derek Reese, 2nd platoon, Charlie Company, with the 132nd. Over."

The radio remained silent for a second before coming to life again. "Roger that Lieutenant. We are very glad to hear your voice. We thought we had lost all of the 132nd. How many of there are you? Over."

"Seven. Over."

"We are sending a couple of birds for an extraction. Meet Evac Team at LZ Echo in 48 hours. Hang in there LT. Over."

"Roger that. We'll be there. Over and out."


	9. Ch 8: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah had no luck in finding Martin. She had spent six hours and two tanks of gas driving up and down the street of his neighborhood, his parents neighborhood, and every neighborhood within a four mile radius of the apartment. The soldier must had found someplace to hide.

It was dark as Sarah pulled off to the side of the road. On her left was an old motel that looked like it was about to be condemned. That would at least give her a bed for the night. Taking a long, deep breath, Sarah pulled out her cell and called Ellison. The phone rang twice before he answered.

"Hello."

Sarah quickly punched the code into her phone before answering, "Ellison, it is Sarah."

She listened as the code beeped back at her before the man's voice answered her.

"Did you have any luck with the boy?"

"No, he must have clocked me when I was watching his place. As soon as I approached him, Martin took off running."

'I see. Well, what is our next move?"

Sarah gave a frustrated sigh. "I'll talk with his parents tomorrow. Maybe they will know where he has gone. If not, I'll come back tomorrow night and we'll have to figure something else out."

"Savannah is missing you right now."

"Really?"

"She is missing a lot of people right now. Found her crying earlier today. She wants her mother and John Henry back."

"Not a lot of control we have over that right now. I'll talk with her tomorrow. I'm not sure if I can help comfort her any, but I'll try."

"Right. See you tomorrow."

The call ended. Sarah sat her phone down in the cup holder and closed her eyes. Today had not gone how she would have liked it to have gone. Thinks felt like they were spiraling further out of her control. At least when John was here, things made sense to her. Now, she was struggling to even see a point. Things were just falling apart.

Sarah felt her hand twitch slightly. There was something or someone moving outside the left side of the truck. In a matter of a microsecond, Sarah's muscle memory took over and she pulled her Glock out of its holster and the safety was switched off. She pointed it towards the door at the same time that the door opened and another gun was shoved into her face.

"You have just three seconds to tell me why you were watching me before I vanish and you will never find me again." Martin said, his voice filled with authority.

Sarah looked at the gun and then slowly lowered her own weapon. "You know my son. I need your help. John Connor needs your help."

Martin tilted his head slightly before jumping into the truck and closing the door behind him. He tossed his bag onto the back seat and sat his pistol on his lap.

"Drive. I've got another hunk of metal on my six."

Sarah didn't need to be told twice. She stuck the keys into the ignition and turned the engine over. As the headlights came to life, they illuminated a massive figure standing several yards away. Shifting the truck into gear, she flipped a U and drove away as fast as possible. In the rear mirror, Sarah watched as the terminator started running after the truck.

"Shotgun under the seat." Sarah snapped as the Machine got closer. "Get to work, soldier."


	10. Ch 9: Catherine Weever, 2026

The old office was nothing more than a ruin. The top floors—that had served as her private office—were gone. In fact, nothing above the second floor had even survived. Catharine felt something inside of her sink. Of course she knew the place would no longer be standing. She knew it would be destroyed. This was not her first time seeing the destruction of a post-Judgment Day world. Yet, she felt some sort of attachment to the place. It wasn't just a building to her. It was her home. It made her…sad to see the place destroyed.

Slowly, carefully, the T-1001 slipped passed the stones and medal chunks of building that hid the broken glass doors. The lobby seemed to be in fairly good shape, all things considered. The windows were mostly broken, furniture had been turned over, and there were signs of people having used the area as living quarters at one point in time.

As she rounded the corner, Catherine stopped. Over twenty men and women lay on the floor. Their ragged clothing showed them to be part of the Resistance, TechCom soldiers. The dried blood they lay in and the holes in their bodies showed that they were executed. Each one had their hands tied behind their backs. Noe, it seemed, had given any struggle to free themselves or fight back. These were soldiers who had just given up.

Turning, Catherine began sweeping the building for any signs of life. Her sensors didn't find anything in the immediate area. Satisfied that there were no survivors on the first floor, she moved quickly towards the stairs that would take her to the basement. The heavy doors that once blocked the progress of anyone without authorization were broken. Someone had kicked the doors down.

Altering her vision to better see in the dark, Catharine walked calmly down the stairs. The basement was trashed. The computers that had once housed John Henry were smashed or blown to bits. The desk he used to sit behind was turned over and looked like it had been used for cover during a firefight.

Catharine was about to turn to leave when she heard the sound of someone stepping on broken glass. Tilting her head slightly, she walked towards the origins of the sound. Behind an overturned computer server, the terminator found a woman crouching. She had fear written all over her face.

"Hello. You seem to be trespassing on my property."

The woman looked around in confusion before stammering out, "I-I din't tres-spass. P-please don't kill me. I'm n-not a deserter."

Catharine smiled slightly. She had forgotten that she was dressed in a Resistance uniform. The woman was wearing a faded jacket that held a rank and insignia on it. From the looks of it, the jacket had seen much better days.

"Before Judgement Day, I owned this building. I kept something very precious down here. Something I hoped was going to stop this war before it started. I am looking for him now."

"Him?"

"John Henry. Has anyone come here besides me?"

She shook her head.

"I see. Perhaps he is looking for my daughter, instead."

"W-who is your d-daughter?"

"Savannah. Savannah Weever."


	11. Ch10: John Connor, 2026

John ducked off to the side next to Alison. Kyle had just signaled for the group to move out of sight while they checked out an alleyway. John watched as the two Reese brothers moved in unison to clear the alley and then signaling for Alison to bring the unit forward.

"At the rate we are going, we are never going to make it to the extraction zone." John mumbled under his breath.

"Wouldn't go saying that around the LT." Privet Sue Larsen said as she eyed a nearby building with suspicion. "He has seen too many of his friends killed. He's just trying to get us there in one piece."

John nodded his head. He knew how Derek could be. He had spend a couple of years around his uncle and knew just how jumpy he could be. "Right. He just seems more jumpy than usual."

"Usual?" Anderson laughed. "No, I would dare say this is normal for both the Reese boys. By the way you talk sometimes, Connor, I wonder if you know those two."

John didn't say anything in response. He kept his eyes on Kyle as the man moved towards the TechCom soldiers and signaled for them to join the Reese brothers. Quickly, Alison called an end to the conversation and moved the unit forward. John had to watch where he put his feet as he moved through the rubble. The last thing he wanted was to trip and twist his ankle. Upon reaching the two brothers, Kyle gave Derek a pat on the shoulder to let him know the unit was gathered. Derek turned around and pulled out a map.

"We are moving too slow. We are still four klicks out. We need to be there and set up a secure LZ before our birds can set down. The problem is that the ground between us and the LZ is tin can territory. The last two months we have seen a lot of activity from the Medal throughout here. If we move much faster, we are going to attract some attention that we don't want. If we keep at the pace we are going, we will miss our timetable. They will just assume we are dead." Derek folded his map and tucked it back into his pocket.

Somewhere in the distance, something echoed from behind them. The TechCom soldiers turned and raised their weapons. After a moment, They began to relax. John wished he had a weapon. He felt very exposed and very naked with no way to defend himself should something happen.

"Maybe some junk collapsed on itself." Alison finally said quietly.

"Maybe." Derek muttered in response. "We are two minutes away from a Resistance bunker. We'll head there. If we follow the old freeway from there, we can make our timetable. Kyle, take point. Anderson, watch our six."

John stopped in mid-step as he saw the Resistance bunker. It was none other then Catherine Weaver's business building. The top floors had long ago been blown away or caved in from the war. All the glass that once covered the windows lay shattered on the streets below. The holes in the walls were covered with boards and random items of junk that could offer some protection against enemy fire. A bottleneck had been formed near the front doors by pushing cars, trucks, and large chunks of rubble together.

"Connor!" Kyle said from the front of the column. "Don't get left behind, now. Keep up."

"Right."

Alison, who had seemed to have forgotten about John, doubled back at Kyle's words. She reached out and grabbed John by his elbow and began dragging him towards the building. He tried to pull out of her grasp, but Alison responded with a scowl that reminded him of Cameron. John decided it was just better to submit to this treatment then make her more upset.

The inside of the office building didn't look much better than the outside of the building. The desks were covered with bullet holes and plasma rifle burns. Temporary shelters and barricades were littered all around the different offices and rooms. The main lobby had a long, hastily built, stone wall that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Again, there were signs that a battle had been fought sometime ago.

And then there was the smell.

John let out a grunt of disgust as he pulled his shirt up over his nose. This didn't really help any.

"What is that smell?" Derek moaned as he shielded his nose with his arm. "Privet, check out over there."

The soldier raised her weapon and moved quickly towards the area blocked from view. She turned the corner and then let out a cry. There was no hesitation in the company as they raced towards the cry. As they rounded the corner, however, they all stopped dead in their tracts. Twenty-five bodies were laying in their own, dried blood. Flies were buzzing around them and maggots were easily seen on several bodies. Judging from the smell and the bloating, they had been dead for some time now. From the way they lay and the cords that bound their wrists, they had been executed after they had surrendered.

Sue dropped to her knees, gasping for air. Before anyone could attempt to help her, she puked down the front of her uniform and onto the floor. Alison quickly pulled the soldier's hair away from her face as Sue finished.

"What happened here?" John whispered, the shock and fear evident in his voice.

"Grays." Derek spat coldly. "They were excited by those bastard Grays."

Kyle was moving among the bodies. "They are all from the 132nd. Looks like they were a pocket of survivors like us."

"Anyone we know?"

"Alpha Company. Last we heard from them, they were half a klick to our right. Must have run and found their way here."

Derek nodded and passed his brother. John followed his gaze towards a doorway. The door was ajar and John could see the stairs that headed down to the basement. His heart beat a little faster as he realized exactly where they led to. They were going to the basement of the building. Maybe…

John pushed passed the soldiers in front of him and ran towards the stairs. He heard his name being called but he descended two stairs at a time. When he reached the bottom, John gasped and dropped to his knees. His heart had almost stopped when he saw the damage that was before him. The equipment that had brought him forward in time was destroyed. Cameron's body was nowhere to be seen.

"Connor, what is wrong?" Derek stood over John, his rifle moving slowly around the room.

"Nothing. I was hoping she would be down here still. I was hoping the equipment would be operational. I was just being foolish."

"The equipment was destroyed by Command years ago. There was no one down here then. Who are you looking for?"

John turned to look at his uncle. "Cameron. I though Cameron would be here."

Before Derek or one of the other soldiers could respond, Kyle jogged down the stairs out of breath.

"We have two T-600's in the lobby. They must have followed us here."


	12. Ch 11: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah could still feel her heart beating faster then normal. The T-888 had chased them for a mile before Martin had placed a round into its face. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that a blast from a shotgun, at that distance, was enough to bring down the terminator permanently, but it was enough for them to escape. For the time being, that was enough.

Martin hadn't spoken since they had lost the 888. That was ten miles back. He was looking out the window, his eyes not focusing on anything in general. It was starting to cause Sarah some concern.

"Martin?"

He didn't move.

"You said that John needed my help. What is going on? I was supposed to attend West Point next fall. When Judgment Day comes, I was to hook up with John. We were to organize the Resistance. What am I doing here? Is Judgement Day close?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "John is gone."

This time Martin turned slowly to face her. "What happened to the plebe?"

"He left to find his friend. Someone who has been helping us but recently left. We still need her."

"What do you mean left?"

There was some Time Displacement Equipment. I don't know exactly when he is."

"Time displacement? You are talking about time travel?"

"Yes."

"I don't know about this." Martin chuckled slightly as he ran a hand through his hair. "Does that mean he won't be here to lead us in the war?"

"Look, I don't know. Right now, I have to assume he is somewhere in the future. That means I am going to do everything I can to help him. I have no one I can trust right now. I need people who can help me. Who can help him."

"What about John's uncle. Lieutenant Baum?"

Sarah was silent. She could feel the tears returning to her eyes. She took another deep breath and said, "Derek Reese. His name was Reese. A terminator killed him. There is only one man I have working with me right now. I need help."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, well…it just happened. Tomorrow, we are going to arrive at the safe house. We'll figure out someway to take care of this triple-eight, and then we will need to start the war against Skynet."


	13. Ch 12: John Connor, 2026

Derek poked his head around the corner. Without looking, he held up two fingers and then pointed to his left. Kyle and Anderson both dropped their extra equipment and crawled in the direction they were told to go. John knelt on the ground and waited to see what he would be assigned to do.

Again, Derek held up two fingers and pointed. Sue and Hatch followed after Kyle. This patterned continued until it was just Alison, Derek and John left. Satisfied with where he had placed the troops, Derek turned his attention to John.

"I still don't think you have been all that truthful with me. Your story doesn't add up. If you shoot us in the back, I swear, I will kill you myself. Understand?"

John nodded.

"Good, I'm going to drop a grenade on top of them. When it goes off, that is the signal. Blow this tin cans to Hell."

Derek handed John a pistol. He accepted the weapon as well as a few extra clips before watching as Derek crawled around the corner. John slowly made his way to the corner and look out. Sure enough, two terminators were moving through the main lobby. The TechCom soldiers were spread out in groups of twos in a flanking pattern. John quickly realized what was going on. It was a very similar tactic that John had been shown many times by a few guys that his mother had dated. They were Vietnam Vets who had learned how to set up ambushes that maximized their firepower.

"This is going to work." John muttered more to himself.

"Derek may be hard headed and angry a lot, but he is a good officer." Alison said softly. "Almost any plan he comes up with will work."

"I know."

"And just how could you know?"

"Because, I know Derek Reese. He may not recognize me, but I know him." Just then the sound of an explosion ripped through the room. "I know he is a good soldier."

John flipped out from his safe corner and took aim. He got off two good shots before the Metals turned and fired at him. Plasma bullets were now being exchanged from all around the room. John, having received a ton of attention from the enemy, had dived behind a desk and was shooting from behind it.

The adrenaline was causing him to breath harder as he dropped an empty clip and shoved another into the side arm. Shaking his head slightly, John stood up and pulled the trigger. His aim was true as the first T-600 dropped. The second was busy firing at Derek to notice his backup was down. John took that opportunity to get closer to the Machine.

"Hey," John called out. The T-600 had cornered Derek and was about to kill him. "Look, at me! John Connor."

The T-600 turned slowly. The last thing it would see was the plasma bolt from Joh's pistol. The combined blast from John and six other TechCom soldiers was enough to fry its system. Both terminators lay in the dust. Both unmoving.

John's eyes never let the two machines as he dropped the empty clip and loaded the final twelve rounds into the weapon. Lowering the side arm, so as to be able to fire at either of them should they move, John walked slowly to their sides. Kneeling down, he began removing their chips. With the chips in hand, John turned to face his uncle.

"Boy, what the hell were you thinking?" Derek said as he took a step towards John. "You could have killed. Hell, I'be seen soldier who trained for years and wouldn't have done what you did. Where did that come from?"

"My mother…my mother trained me from a young boy. She saw the war coming. She taught me to fight."

Derek shook his head and chuckled. "If I ever meet your mother, I will have to explain to her that her crazy boy just saved my life. She did good with raiding her son."

Letting out a laugh, Derek quickly pulled John into an embrace. Shock caused John to freeze. He slowly looked around to see the squad gathering around him. Something, however was very different about them. There was a new light in their eyes. Hope was returning and it showed in their eyes.


	14. Ch 13: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah took a look around her as she stepped out of the truck. The ground was clear for miles before the tree line. Reaching back into the cabin, she pulled out her shotgun and her Glock. After taking one more look around, she headed for the back door of the safe house. Tapping on the door, she pushed it open. Ellison was standing there with his side arm aimed directly at her.

"Sarah." He said as he lowered the weapon.

"It is alright, Ellison. I found our friend."

Turning, Sarah nodded for Martin to step into the house. He pushed passed her and dropped down into a chair near the kitchen table. He looked from Sarah to Ellison.

"So it is just the three of us then?"

"That is right." Ellison said quietly.

"This is the start of the Resistance." Sarah quickly rearmed the security system before she sat her weapons down on the table. "Until my son returns, we are going to act like Judgment Day has already come and gone. We need to organize ourselves and our efforts. Everything must be ready."

Martin stood up and groaned slightly. "How are we fixed with weapons, supplies, food?"

"We are all right on food and supplies. We have plenty of weapons. Derek had a weapons locker. We can take from there anytime we need. This house is also filled with ammo and weapons." Sarah walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "We can always get more."

"I still have some connections with the FBI." Ellison said. "We will have access to information. The real problem will be finding soldiers to fight this war, and finding Skynet to kill it."

"Alright." Martin walked over to the stove and began looking around. "Please tell me we have something warm to eat for breakfast."

"Breakfast founds good." Came the voice of Little Savannah.

Sarah turned, startled. She had not noticed the child. Truth was, she had forgotten Savannah in the whole madness of the last twelve hours. Walking over to the little girl, Sarah reached down and picked her up.

"Let's see what we can do for breakfast then. Ellison, how are your cooking skills?"

Well enough for a single man. I might be able to make some eggs and a little bacon if we have any."

"Good." Sarah sat Savannah in a chair. "All I seem to know how to make is burnt food."

The house was quiet. No lights were on and Sarah couldn't see anything that caused her to believe someone was at home. Then again, Tarissa Dyson wasn't a woman to run from anything. Sarah looked down the road slightly to see four police cars carefully tucked into the bushes and driveways of the neighborhood. Sarah smiled slightly. Tarissa was home. The police wouldn't have bothered hiding if she wasn't.

"Go." She said finally. "I'll keep an eye on the police. Tell Tarissa that I sent you. Either she will turn you over to the cops immediately or she will call them off. Judging from how our last meeting went, she will probably let you in."

Martin raised an eyebrow. "And if she calls the cops?"

"I'll be right here. If they start rolling out, I'll hold them off. Runs towards Dodger Stadium. I'll pick you up there."

The soldier nodded and opened the door to the truck. "Sure hope this works, Connor."

From the truck, she watched Martin jog across the road to the front door. Now, she just had to wait. The porch light flickered on after a few seconds and then the door opened. Tarissa stood in the doorway, a brown robe covering her. Martin stood on the porch for a minute before entering the home.

Sarah reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. If everything was to happen according to plan, Martin should be calling her any second now. The phone vibrated once before the ID showed the call to be from Martin.

"Hello." Sarah waited for the code. When the beep of the keys could be heard, she responded in a like manner before continuing on. "Put her on."

"Sarah Connor." Tarissa's voice sounded from the speaker. "I would have thought you would have called before now. You always seem to be involved when someone in my family is hurt or missing."

"You know I didn't have anything to do with that. I'm here to help."

"That is the only reason I let your man into my home."

"So," Sarah looked towards the nearest police car. "So we need to find a place to talk. I really can't come waltzing into your home. Where and when do we meet?"


	15. Ch 14: John Connor, 2026

John held his new rifle up to his shoulder as he moved slowly around the pitcher's mound of the crumbling Dodger Stadium. In truth, the old baseball field was a sad sight compared to its old glory. It was dark and lifeless. The sad state of the field only caused John to feel even more on edge. He continued to eye the stands until he was sure that there were no Machines waiting in ambush.

"Clear." John hissed out.

Alison was the first to join him on the field. Kyle and Derek were next. The others soon followed in groups of ones and twos.

"Good work, Connor." Derek looked down at his watch. "Evac should be here in twenty minutes. Anderson, Hatch. Keep watch. The rest of us will take ten."

Derek and Kyle began moving towards the first base—or at least where first base should have been. As they passed by John, Derek reached out and grasped him around the shoulders. John smiled slightly as he followed them. The idea of spending some one on one time with the Reese brothers made him forget the dread of the environment around him. He missed being around Derek. His death had hit John hard and he still had not found time to mourn his passing. Kyle had died before John had ever had a chance to know his father. In some ways, this was his only chance to bond with his father.

"Dad use to bring us here to watch Dodger games before Judgment Day." Derek said as he sat down on a heap of stones. "I sure do miss the old man."

Kyle laughed as he crouched down and rubbed his hands together. "Do you remember when Dad took us to the Dodgers against the Rangers? He bought us each a thing of nachos. We sat them on the seat only to have Dad sit down on top of them."

Derek and Kyle both laughed. "He was so mad. He grounded us both for a week. Of course, I only think we were punished because the Dodgers lost that game." Derek blew into his hands and rubbed them gently together. "What about you Connor? What was your old man like?"

"I…" John looked over at Kyle. "I don't know my father. He was a soldier. He was sent on a very important mission. He was sent on his own. He had no back up. No help. He was killed in the line of duty. I wasn't born when it happened. My mother was pregnant with me when he died."

Both brothers looked at each other. Kyle was the first to speak. "I am sorry, John."

"It is ok. I wish I could have known him. My mother use to have nightmares after his death. She thought about him almost every day. I think it caused her more health problems then she admitted to."

"Sounds like you had a great family. No wonder you are a good soldier." Derek gave John a friendly slap on the back.

"I did." John said with a nod. "We were broken, but we had each other. I miss my mother. I miss everyone that became part of our family."

"We are the lucky ones." Kyle said. "Derek and I have each other. As hard as it was when Dad and Mom died, we always had each other. I guess we forget just how much of a blessing that truly is."

John smiled. Slowly, the smile vanished as he looked down at the ground. He realized how much he had taken his family for granted, how much he had taken Cameron for granted. She and his mother were always there for him and he only pushed them away.

"Hey, Connor!"

John snapped his head up to look at his uncle.

"I've said your name three times now. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I guess I just got lost in my thoughts."

Kyle stood up. "Don't worry John. We all wander off to different times. Our ten minute break is up. We need to make sure the LZ is secure before Command is going to authorize or birds to land here."

The chopper bounced up and down as it flew closer to the ground. The pilot, a young girl not much older than John, had kept the ride fairly smooth considering the random bursts of gunfire and plasma blasts that were sent up towards the war bird. She was also a very chatty person. Despite the lack of interest in what she had to say, the girl just kept on talking. John had finally had enough and took his headset off. The noise of the chopper blades was enough to drowned her out.

The sun was slowly rising when the bird began making a clear decent. John felt something slap him. He turned to see Derek pointing towards the headset and then to John. Nodding, John picked it up and slipped it back onto his head.

"Glad you could rejoin us." Kyle said with a chuckle. "We are ten minutes out."

"Good. Where are we anyways?" John said as he looked out at the landscape below.

"About thirty klicks east of LA, sir." The pilot said back. "This used to be a forest before the war—a pretty one from what I have been told. Command turned it into our last stand. We've been standing for the last of the Resistance ever since the 132nd and 501st where wiped out in the Battle of South LA and the Battle of Elysain Valley. We have just under five thousand men, women, and children. I doubt the tin cans will let us gather much more strength before they come at us. General Bedell is organizing—"

John quickly cut her off. "Wait. Martin Bedell?"

"That's right, sir. General Martin Bedell. He and a few others make up Command. I believe he said he would be meeting us just as soon as we land. He wants to talk with Lieutenant Reese and get a debriefing about Medal activities."

"Right." Derek said quickly. "I'll finally get to put a face to the man who ordered the 132nd to hold Southern Los Angeles. The man who is responsible for the death of my soldiers."

"I would be careful, sir. General Bedell is a fine soldier. He has been fighting Skynet since before Judgment Day. He was the officer in charge of our forces during the first Battle of Los Angeles."

An air pad could be seen below the bird. The closer they came to landing, the more people John could make out. Within a minute, the engine died down and the doors were thrown open and two TechCom soldiers began helping the last survivors of the 132nd out of the bird.

John, once clear of the bird, began scanning the faces of the soldiers around him. He was hoping to find some of them familiar. To his disappointment, all he found were worn out men and women. The faces were scared and showed signs of fatigue and lack of hope. No one smiled or greeted the survivors. As John passed by them, the soldiers would avoid looking at him or just growl in annoyance. John could see that this really was the last stand. These soldiers were already beat. They had resigned to their fate.

"Well, I'll be damned!" A voice behind John said with a laugh. "I thought we would never see you again, Connor."

Turning, John found himself face to face with Martin Bedell.

"Martin!" John said excitedly. "I can't believe it is you. I can't tell you how happy I am to find you here."

The man smiled and nodded. He had grown a great deal since John had last seen him. His hair was long and unkempt. A long white scar ran down the length of his cheek. He wore dark green fatigues and had a sidearm strapped to his right leg.

"General John Connor, I can't tell you just how happy I am to see you."

"General John Connor?" Derek asked as he stepped up next to Martin. "Your a general, Connor? You're part of Command?"


	16. Ch 15: James Ellison, 2009

Ellison looked down at the paper in his hand. There was an address written on the paper. He looked up at the mailbox that stood at the side of the road. It matched the address he had written down. It was amazing to Ellison just how much information one could find if one knew where to look. Being an ex-FBI agent had some perks.

Sarah and Martin had left to track down the Dyson boy almost two days ago. He had been given the assignment to find another person that Sarah thought would be able to help in the fight. When he had asked for more information about the girl, Sarah had simply said the girl and her sister had vanished and had no communication with anyone that she was aware of. It had made it difficult but not impossible. With one call to an old buddy of his in the FBI, Ellison had been given an address.

It seemed that there was an old farm that once belonged to the Fields family. Figuring that she was still young enough that she had yet to rally build any contacts or eatables herself in a new area, Ellison figured that she had probably found shelter in someplace familiar to her. The farm seemed like a good place.

"Will you be alright here?" Ellison asked.

"Yes, Mr. Ellison." Savannah said with a nod. "I'll be alright."

"Good." Ellison said as he looked at her. "Stay in the SUV, keep the doors lock, and I'll be right back. Ok?"

"Ok."

Ellison smiled before he stepped out of the SUV and headed up the walkway towards the back door of the house. It was a small farm house that had been built on the edge of a great field. Behind the house was the remains of a barn that had been neglected for years. In reality, it was a peaceful place.

As Ellison pushed the backdoor open, he pulled out his new Glock. Sarah had given it to him right before she and Martin had left. It was different from his service weapon when he was FBI and and Ellison was still getting use to the slightly larger grip of the sidearm but it was nice to have a firearm again.

He entered a room that looked like it had come out of an old, Hollywood farmhouse movie. An old couch with a flower print sat under the window and a box television was nestled into the far corner. A coffee table sat in-between the couch and the television set. A mug sat on the coffee table and was filled with the black liquid of coffee. Ellison scanned to room to make sure that it was clear.

The room seemed to be abandoned. Ellison advanced into the room and wrapped his hand around the mug. It was hot. Someone was living in this house and they were close by. Ellison raised his Glock and advanced deeper into the house. The hallway seemed clear and he moved towards what looked like a kitchen. He turned to clear the corner of the kitchen only to hear the pumping sound of a shotgun. Ellison flinched as he came face to face with a 12 gauge shotgun.

"Nice try." A woman said. She was young, but looked like she had seen much in her life already. Her brown hair wasn't very long and only came down to her jawline. "I know you're not Medal. They always come through the front door. Sarah taught me that. So who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is James Ellison. I work with Sarah Connor. She sent me to try and find you and your sister. You are Lauren Fields, correct?"


	17. Ch 16: John Connor, 2026

"When were you planning on telling me?" Derek growled as he and John followed Martin down a bunker corridor.

John could only shrug. "I wasn't sure how to tell you. When you didn't recognize my name, I could only assume that you wouldn't believe me if I explained who I was."

"Was anything you told me the truth?"

"I never lied to you. I stumbled upon you and your F.O.B. by accident. One of my most valuable allies disappeared. I left looking for my friend, Cameron and I still am looking for her. I never lied to you, I just didn't tell you everything. Derek, you are a good soldier and we need you."

Derek didn't answer as he looked straight ahead. John could see an internal struggle playing out on his uncle's face. John hoped that his uncle would forgive him. He hope that Derek would understand why John hadn't disclosed everything. John sighed and returned his attention to Martin. The soldier was standing in front of a door and was unlocking it. As he pushed it open, a black man in a suit stood in the doorway with his hands inside his pockets. John felt a faint hint of hate as he looked at the former FBI agent. In some ways, John blamed this whole situation on James Ellison.

"Hello John. It is good to see you again. If you will step in here, we need to debrief Lieutenant Reese and then we need to talk with you. The Resistance needs you more than ever before. God has answered our prayers."

"Ellison, I didn't expect to see you here. What other surprises am I in for?"

"Come on in and see for yourself." Ellison stepped out of the way and moved his hand in a wide, welcoming gesture.

John looked over at Derek before he walked into the room. His uncle and Martin are right behind him. It was dark in the room. The lighting was very poor. There was a long table that used up most of the space. Sitting behind the table was a woman with brown hair—graying slightly despite her age—that was only long enough to reach her jawline. Her eyes were kind but her face was worn. The lines under her eyes told the story of someone who had lived a hard life.

"Have a seat." Ellison said as he sat down on the Woman's left. Martin took the seat on the right.

Both John and Derek sat in the seats across from them and waited. It wasn't long before the door opened again and another woman entered the room. She was grown and held herself different then the little girl that John had met back in 2009, but this was none other than Savannah Weever.


	18. Ch 17: Catherine Weever, 2026

The T-1001 stopped near the ridge. She turned to look at the TechCom soldier named Brittany O'Brian. She was struggling to keep up with Catherine. Turning to look at the terrain, Catharine seemed to recall this place being a forest once. Slowly, she began scanning her files until she found a picture of the old trees. Despite being a machine, she found she rather liked the color and beauty of the trees over the barren landscape before her.

"What makes you b-believe who you are l-looking for can be found with General Weever?" Brittney wheezed.

"They were friends. When little Savannah was in school, the two would write messages to each other. I could no' keep them separate. John Henry was not at my office, he wasn't at my house. The only thing that I can think of is that he will be looking for Savannah. How far are we?"

The TechCom soldier threw her hands in the air. She growled and looked around in frustration. "M-man, don't you e-ever rest?"

Catharine raised an eyebrow and looked back at the wasteland before her. "No, I never rest. How much farther?"

"Six k-kicks that w-way before we will m-meet up with what is l-left of the Resistance."

With a nod, the terminator began walking. A smile began forming on her lips as she heard Brittney's grunts of displeasure.


	19. Ch 18: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah stood in front of the unnamed graves in the cemetery. She still had no idea which one held Kyle, but she knew for sure which one held the remains of Derek. She lay two roses down on the marker of the freshly dug grave. Sarah was finding it difficult to really process her feelings. Derek had become a part of her family. Her paranoia had caused her to lose faith in Derek for a bit, but in the end, he was there for her and John. He was their family.

She didn't bother looking up when she heard the sounds of people approaching her. She knew who it was.

"Seems like we have met this way before," Teresa said, there was a hint of irony to her voice. "Save that last time our roles were reversed. You brought my husband a flower then, may I return the favor?"

Sarah nodded and then looked up. teresa walked forward, holding a single flower. She looked at the tombstone and then sat the rose down.

"Who was it?"

"John's uncle. He did at the hands of a Machine. John's father is out here as well. I don't know which grave is his."

I'm sorry. I truly am." The woman turned and walked back toward where Martin stood. There was a bench that faced the graves. Teresa sat there and Sarah followed. "My son has been missing for a while now. Do they have something to do with it?"

Sarah nodded. "I believe so. I never wanted this to happen to you. I promise you, I will do whatever I can to get your son back. What I need to know is where to start looking."

"I don't know, Sarah. He was going to school. I only saw him every now and then. He didn't come home all that often. I think he was upset that I forgave you. He blamed me for what happened just as much as he blamed you. Where is your Machine? Couldn't she tell you where they are keeping my son?"

"No. She has been deactivated. She was badly damaged during a battle. I'm not sure why, but she gave her chip to another. My son is trying to find where it went. Until he gets back, she is useless to us."

"I guess that explains why you have him now. He isn't a Machine, is he?"

"No, he is a soldier. He and I are working to stop this from happening. One of our top priority is to find your son. If he's anything like his father, he could help build Skynet."

"And will my son die as well?"

"No. Enough people have died because of this war. Your son will not be added to the list."

Terrisa nodded and then pulled a paper out of her bag. "This is his apartment address. His phone number and his banking information are all there. I don't know what else I can give you. Bring my son back to me. '

"You have my word."

"No luck?" Martin asked as he sat down his box of Chinese food.

"No. Damn, this was John's area. He was always better at computers and hacking then I was." Sarah pushed the laptop away from her. She then picked up her own food and took a bit. "As soon as Ellison is back, we'll see if he can't help us out. Maybe there is a trick the FBI knows that I don't."

"When was the last time he checked in?"

"I haven't heard anything from him since we left. I guess we'll give him another day and then call. I'm sure he'll have something by then."

The noodles Sarah and picked up were cold. She sat them down in disgust and began pounding away at the computer again. She had managed to hack into Danny's University account but that had brought little useful information. The camp was in Northern California. All the account told her was that he had not answered any of his emails for three months and that he was on probation for failing his summer courses.

Sarah had all but given up again when the silent alarm was triggered. Picking up her shotgun from where it rested against the wall, Sarah made her way to the front window. She could see a dark SUV making its way down the driveway. it pulled up alongside Derek's truck and killed its engine. Not realizing she had been holding her breath, Sarah finally began breathing again when she saw Ellison step out of the SUV along with Lauren and her infant sister. Savannah ran from the other side of the vehicle and took Ellison's hand.

"Unlock the back door." Sarah muttered. "Ellison was more successful than we were."


	20. Ch 19: John Connor, 2026

Derek had been dismissed after he had started shouting at the members of Command. The debriefing had started out well, but when he began discussing the losses to his company, Derek became enraged. Martin hadn't helped the situation as he too began shouting in a vain attempt to justify every action to Derek. It was Ellison who stepped in and defused the situation. Derek was told to find what was left of his unit, take a hot shower, find something hot to eat, and wait like everyone else. John's uncle didn't leave in a good mood, but he didn't press Command for any further explanation as to how the Machines had managed to cut the Resistance to shreds.

The girl in the middle had been introduced as Lauren Fields, chief medical officer. John had heard his mother mention the girl once before. Lauren had excused herself shortly after Derek had left the room. She told the room at large that she had to see to the General's health. That had been a while ago. The room had been filled with an awkward silence as John decided what he wanted to ask first. However, it wasn't John who broke the silence.

"John," Ellison leaned forward, his sue restricting ow far he could comfortably go. "We kept looking for you after you left with Mrs. Weever. When Judgment Day happened, we tried to organize and fight back. We are no John Connor, however. This body of generals have tried to do the job of a legend, and we have failed. The Machines have destroyed our forces. We are down to the last of our supplies, our munitions, our hope. We held out as long as we could. The end for us is soon."

Savannah was quick to back Ellison up. "You mother organized us as well as she could. Sadly, we lot the moral of the soldiers quickly. We had a few early successes but with the death of General Perry, and the recent defeats in the field, you are looking at the last of us."

"What are your orders, sir?" Martin asked from the corner where he was sitting.

"I don't know." John said softly. "I'm not that great leader that was prophecies about since my birth. I came here to find Cameron and bring her home. I didn't expect to find the world like this."

"I know John." Ellison stood up and walked around the table. As he did, he buttoned the top button of his suit. "I was there the day you left. I know why you left. Huh, we probably all would have done the same thing for a girl. Well, save for Savannah. I'm sure there are a few boys she would have done it for."

A slight laugh resinated from the people in the room. The smiles, however, quickly faded away.

"My point is that I know you didn't choose this life." Ellison continued. "It was forced upon you. Many of the great men of the Bible have a similar story. They were chosen by God for a greater purpose. Chosen to save his people. I believe you, like many others, were given the purpose of saving God's children. This is a task that only you can do."

"Give the Bible talk some rest, Ellison." Martin grunted. "We need something more than just empty words from a book. We need something flesh and blood. We need John Connor."

"They are both right, John." Savannah paused to pull a pager out of her pocket and look at it. "We have fought for years, many of our friends have died because of this war. We stood in your place, John. We have done the best we could, now…" She shrugged. 'Now, it is up to you. General, we would follow you into battle if you would just lead us." She turned to Ellison and said, "James, that was Lauren. She says she is ready for us now."

Ellison nodded. "Come on Martin, wouldn't want to keep those two waiting. John, we have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" John asked the trio of generals led him out of the room and deeper into the bunker.

"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." Savannah chuckled.

The deeper into the bunker they went, the less soldiers John saw and the more refugees. The hallway opened up into a massive room that was packed with men, women and children. Most just sat on the ground and tried to huddle around a small fire or stuff what little food they had into their mouths. Every single one of them was covered in mud and grim. Their skin was a pasty white from a lack of sunlight and their eyes had shrunken into their skulls. As a group of soldiers moved through them, they quickly moved out of the way and looked upon the TechCom personal with fear. Martin led Command through the refugees. When he reached the far side of the room he barked an order for a couple of soldiers to quickly open the door and let them through.

John was led into another hallway. This one had doors ever five or six feet. As they passed the rooms, John could see officers and sergeants talking inside them. Some of the conversations seemed heated.

"Our war rooms." Martin said without looking back. "Where our officers spend all day arguing about where our resources should go. This is why we are loosing, General. Our forces are so divided between themselves. We held them together as long as we could, but there is nothing uniting us. I—"

He was interrupted by a loud argument. In the room between John and Martin, two offers were shouting at each other. The younger, female shoved a man that was in his forties. He drew back his fist to attack. He never got the chance to throw the punch. Martin pulled him away from the woman and threw him into the wall.

"General Bedell, what the hell are you doing?" The man asked as he pushed himself to his feet. "Lieutenant Colonel Yeats as the start of this."

"Quiet, Colonel Bachman." Martin snapped. "I don't care who started it. The two of you are finished with this bickering."

Yeats shook her head. "I will not stand for this man's…"

Martin turned on her and pointed a finger in her face. "No! I'm finished listening to you. Every time I turn around, you are bickering about all sorts of things. The Machines have all but destroyed us and I blame the two of you more than I blame anyone else. So shut the hell up!"

Both officers began shouting at the same time. Martin started yelling as well before he drew his side arm and swung it around violently. John shook his head and looked at Savannah and Ellison. Both of them seemed unsure how to defuse the situation. Finally John stepped forward and gave a whistle. The sound echoed around the room and the three officers stopped and looked towards John.

"That is enough, from all of you!" John said loudly. "I have only been here for a few hours and already I am sick of listening to this. Why would you spend your energy screaming at each other when there are men, women, and children who are not a stone's throw away who need you. I mean, the survival of everyone is depended on you. If you can't come together, then we are all dead. I get it, you have suffered, you are scared, but if you continue to yell and scream we can all just lay down and die here and now."

The three of them stood there for a moment before they began looking from one to the other. Martin seemed ashamed, the others confused.

"General Bedell, who is this kid?" Colonel Bachman finally asked.

"His name," Martin said as he holstered his sidearm, "is General John Connor, Head of Command."

The two officers glanced at each other before stiffening to attention and saluting.

"That is better." John said. "I don't care how you do it, but work this out. We need each other. Like it or not, we are the last hope of humanity. We must put aside our differences and stand together. We are bound by honor to stand up for each other. If we neglect this duty, we are doomed. If you won't learn to work together for each other then do it for yourselves. Your best interest is to work together. Our only hope is if can do this. Please, for the all of our sakes, can you find a way to work together?"

"General Connor," Yeats licked her lips, "Colonel Bachman and I have never seen eye to eye. We both had different goals, and—"

"Do you both want to live?" John asked. "Do you both want to win this war?"

"Well, yes." Bachman said.

"Then you have the same goals. Either we stand together or we die alone. Those are our choices."

A silence filled the room. John looked at the two officer and then to Martin. Martin was smiling slightly and John nodded for him to leave the room. He and Martin left without saying another word. Ellison gave a toothy grin and gave John a pat on the back. Savannah threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug.

"Well done, John." Ellison said.

"John," Martin said as he gave Ellison a slight shove, "you truly are the answers to our prayers."

"Come on." Savannah said as she released John. "Lauren is waiting for us."

Martin nodded and then started back down the hallway. At the end of the hall, Martin pounded on a door. A second later, Lauren opened the iron door. She waved them in and then closed the door right behind them. John took a second to adjust to the slightly better lit room. Once he could see without squinting, John took in the room. It was bigger than any other room he had seen thus far. It looked like a bedroom. Against the far wall was what looked like an old hospital bed. Monitors and other medical equipment lined the walls. Laying in the bed was an old woman. She was weak and pale. Oxygen was pumped into her system through a tube that ran into her nose.

Tears ran down John's cheek as he reached forward and took his mother's hand in his own. Sarah Connor's eyes flickered and then opened. She stared at John for a bit before tears formed and flowed from them.

"John, oh, my John. I knew you would come back to me someday."


	21. Ch 20: South of Resistance Base, 2026

The heads up screen display zoomed in on the two guards walking near the area. At first the order to terminate flashed on the display. The order, however, was quickly overridden. Human life was too precious to just kill like that. Mr. Ellison had taken the time to show him that. Besides, he had the strangest feeling that John Connor would not like it if these humans were to be killed. He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much, but it did. for now, he wouldn't do anything that would harm these humans.

Instead, the cyborg's attention moved towards the field in-between him and the two soldiers. At first glance, he couldn't see anything. It was a field that was filled with the remains of a cabin and the once beautiful forest. Switching his vision system, the cyborg could make out where the Resistance had buried mines into the ground. This wasn't something that Machines could normally do. These mines would be very effective against the ground and shock troops of Skynet, but not against him. He was different. He wasn't some puppet being controlled by strings. Besides there was something in his head. An advanced technology that he didn't have before. Something new.

Stepping out of the bushes, the AI began walking through the minefield on the path that gave him the greatest chance of reaching the guards before they spotted him and shot him. The path was not an easy one. It required him to almost dance though the field. It shocked him how gracefully he found himself to be. In the dusty basement he had never thought to learn how to dance. Sure he had seen files and video chips on it, but he never paid much attention to it. Where could he have picked it up?

It didn't truly matter. He was designed to learn. Mrs. Weever had made sure of that. He also had a set of rules, a code to live by. Mr. Ellison had seen to that. Thanks to both of them, there was very little he was incapable of learning. Human emotions, for example, seemed to be beyond his ability to fully grasp. And yet, somewhere, looking deep within his chip, he almost feel those emotions. It was strange to him.

"Gentlemen." He said loud enough to gain their attention. He was quick to change his vision sensors as two bright flashlights pointed in his direction. "Please, gentlemen. There is no call for that. I am here looking for someone. An old friend of mine."

The guards were not listening. They were simply shouting about how the parameter had been breached. The AI could only assume they were using some sort of direct communication that he couldn't hack. Maybe a hardline or a secure radio wave.

"If you could use your radio to simply check and see if my friend is here, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Medal!" The guard shouted.

Looking from one guard to another, the AI finally held his hands in the air and slowly got down on his knees, something he had picked up from one of the police shows he had watched in his spare time.

"Please, I am looking for my friend. Is Savannah Weever here? Or perhaps Mr. James Ellison? Maybe even the Connors? If any of them are here, could you please tell them John Henry is here? I wish to speak with them."


	22. Ch 21: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah held her Glock at the ready as she and Martin stood near the door of an old warehouse. The records of the property said that it had been abandoned six years ago. Sarah didn't buy that. The building was owned by Cyberdyne before Sarah had made up her mind to change the future. After the company tanked sure to the explosion and the death of Miles Dyson, the property had been sold to a private investor who just stopped using it six years ago. Sarah's hunch was that it was Skynet who had bought the place.

Looking at the young soldier, Sarah nodded. He grunted slightly before taking a step forward and kicked the door in. Sarah followed after him. The only light in the place came from the flashlight attached to Martin's shotguns and the light Sarah held in her left hand.

The room shocked Sarah. She had suspected that she and Martin would have a very hazardous warehouse that she and Martin would have to clear out before they could really search, but…the room was empty. There was nothing in it.

"Well, this is a bit of a let down." Martin said as he looked at her.

Sarah stood up and lowered her Glock. Her light flashed around where there should have been boxes, crates, equipment, and parts. Sarah stepped deeper into the room and then swore. She moved over to a part of the warehouse that looked like it might have been an office. It was was empty save for an old chair.

"Maybe this is just an old warehouse." Martin offered as he joined her.

"Ellison's contact was sure that something was going on here. He said the locals had been complaining about the noises and the trucks that come here so late at night. It just doesn't make sense. Why would this place be so active if nothing has been going on here. How can we be so far off?" Sarah growled in frustration and kicked the wall. "Maybe I'm just looking for something that isn't here."

"It was a good lead." Martin said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just because the Medal are not here doesn't mean that we are not on the right track for finding Danny. We just need to keep looking. Come one, Sarah, we will find him."

Sarah nodded and started the walk back towards the road where she and Martin had left the truck. Martin was close behind her. Neither soldier noticed the figure that was hiding behind the bushes around twenty yards back. Its red eyes flashed slightly as the directive on its CPU screen flashed: _Terminate._


	23. Ch 22: John Connor, 2026

The alarms sounded sometime after Sarah had slipped into a peaceful rest. John was quickly shaken away be a soldier who had been posted outside the room to guard both the legendary Connors.

"Excuse me, General. General Ellison is asking that you come right away. Don't worry about your mother. Nothing gets in this room unless they come through me."

John nodded his head as he pulled his jacket on. "Where do I find him?"

"He and the others of Command have gathered in the planning room just before the great hall. Just head down the hall and you will find them. Quickly, sir. These sirens mean something has breached our lines. It is a general call to arms."

Leaning over his mother, John gave her a quick kiss to her forehead. He then marched out of the room and down the hall. He moved quickly to the farthest room in the hall and pushed the door open. Inside, John found Command all waiting for him. As John entered, a couple of soldiers stepped out and closed the door behind them.

"John," Savannah said. "We have a situation. We need to know what you would have us do."

"What is going on?"

This time, Ellison spoke up. "It is John Henry. He found his way onto our base."

It took John a second to process what he had been told. As soon as he could comprehend exactly what it meant, any trace of being tired left his body. A smile spread across his face.

"Take him to a secure room. I will meet with him." John said as he turned to walk towards the doors.

"General, all due respect." Martin said quickly. "He is Medal. We don't know why he is here or who he is programed to terminate. He asked for four members of Command by name. You, your mother, Savannah, and Ellison."

"He was my friend." Savannah chipped in. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt me. He also has some fondness for the Connors since they saved my life. Mr. Ellison was his teacher. He isn't here to hurt any of us."

"Then what is the tin can doing here? Why did he vanish in the first place?" Lauren spat.

"He left with Cameron's ship and traveled to the future. He isn't a Skynet machine. He is an AI equal to that of Skynet. That is to say an equal in power but this AI has a moral code. I gave that to him myself." Ellison sounded back.

"Great, so why don't we just invite Skynet over for tea as well?" Martin said sarcastically.

"Enough." John said loudly. "I've made my decision. I want to talk with John Henry. Have the soldiers cuff him if that will make you feel better. I don't care. Just set up a meeting with him and this Command. And turn these alarms off. Keep the men on alert for the the tie being. Mrs. Weever came looking for John Henry as well. I would be willing to bet she is near by as well. Come and get me when John Henry is ready to talk."

"And where will you be, John?"

"Talking with my mother."

"Mother?" John asked as he sat down next to the bedridden woman. "We just found John Henry. He has Cameron's chip, remember? If I can get him back to 2009, I can get Cameron back. We can stop this from ever happening."

"John." Her voice cracked slightly. "John? You found Cameron?"

"Her chip, yes. We found it."

"Joh. This war is over. We lost. Skynet will win before the month is out. You are the leader and future of mankind. Please, save us from this fate. Save me from the fate of not seeing you grow into the man you will become."

"How can I? I'm just a kid. I'm still not the great general everyone else sees me as. How do I lead this people to victory?"

"This people, these soldiers are not the ones you shell lead, my son. Skynet won when you left." She coughed. "Your fight is not in this time. It is back in 2009."

"How do I get there? What do I need to do?"

Sarah Connor closed her eyes. Her breathing became slower and slower. She opened her mouth, and gasped slightly. "John? John?"

"I'm here."

"I was scared I would not live to see…to see…I left instructions with…" Her voice was soft. She was no longer looking at her son as a soft smile graced her lips. She coughed again. "Kyle…"

"Mom?" John reached forward to feel for her pulse. He couldn't find it. The machines on the wall began beeping out a warning. "Mom! Help! Someone get in here now!"

The door flew open. The TechCom soldier held his weapon at the ready as he scanned the room for danger. "What is it, General?"

"Run and get Lauren Fields! On the double."

The soldier didn't hesitate, he took off running. He didn't even bother to close the door. As john watched the soldier grow smaller down the hallway, he broke down and cried. He had never imagined a world with his mother. Now, he had to make the decisions. He was now on his own for the first time.


	24. Ch 23: James Ellison, 2009

Savannah raced towards Ellison. She was giggling as she held her hands out in front of her, seeking the protection of his arms. Ellison waited for the child to reach him before he dropped down onto the couch. His young charge jumped into his lap and giggled loudly.

"Savannah, what are you running from?"

"Ms. Fields." Savannah squealed as she pointed to the young woman who had come charging out of the bathroom in a set of wet clothes.

"Oh, no." Ellison muttered. he wasn't sure what was going on, but he could tell right away that he didn't want to be in the middle of this. "Ms. Fields, what did Savannah do?"

"Let her go, Mr. Ellison. She and I are going for a little swim." Her face was serious, but there was a sense of humor that Ellison could pick up. Maybe this wasn't as bad of a situation as he feared it would be.

"Now, Ms. Fields, I am sure Savannah didn't mean any harm. Surely we can spare her any retribution you might have in mind."

"I am warning you. If you don't let her go now, I'll not hold back on your account."

"Please don't let her take me, Mr. Ellison." Savannah squeaked. She buried her face into his chest.

"I don't think you will be getting her off my lap without a fight."

"Fine." Lauren folder her arms across her chest and walked back to the bathroom.

"Now then, Savannah. What was that about?" Ellison looked down at the child.

"I was playing. I guess Ms. Fields didn't—"

Ellison jumped as cold water poured over his head and all over his lap. Little Savannah give a scream and rolled out of Ellison's lap causing the man to receive the majority of the water alone. Once the onslaught of cold had ended, Ellison looked up to see a laughing Lauren. She dropped the bucket she had been using and picked up Savannah as she tried to run.

"I told you!" She laughed. "I told you I would get you back. You shouldn't have dragged Mr. Ellison into this and just taken the punishment."

The two girls continued to laugh and giggle. Ellison stood up and stripped his suit coat off. He stood there for a second, water dripping off his head. Finally he flicked his hand towards Lauren but had little effect against her.

"Next time," Ellison said as he looked down at both of them, "don't come running to me. I'll just give you up."

Little Savannah looked down. She was obviously feeling guilty for what had happened. Ellison just shook his head an laughed. In reality, his suit was probably ruined by the sheer amount of water that he just received, but it was funny. He needed the laugh as well. Things had been very stressful as of late and it felt good to just laugh.

"Don't worry yourself. I haven't found myself part of a water fight in a long time." His laughter died down slightly before continuing. "Savannah, run along and change out of your wet clothes."

As Savannah jumped to obey, the sound of a child crying started. Lauren gave a sigh and headed for the back bedroom. Ellison shook his head at the dysfunctional family he had found himself a part of. They all came from broken backgrounds and yet here they were, all brought together by Sarah Connor. Ellison picked up his jacket and headed to his bedroom.

He draped his jacket across the back of a chair before pulling his shoes and socks off. After removing his sidearm and laying it on the bed, he stripped out of the wet shirt and trouser. After drying himself off, he found a pair of jeans and a polo shirt that he put on. He had just finished tying his sneakers when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

The code rang from the other end. Ellison responded in a like manner. Then he waited for someone to speak to him.

"Ellison, it is Sarah. Martin and I have a problem. A terminator is looking for us. We've locked ourselves into a hotel. We won't be around tonight. I won't lead it back to our home. Listen, there's something else. Something I need you to know just in case…"


	25. Ch 24: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah hung up the phone and sat it down on the bed. Ellison now had the instructions that she needed to get to John. If she doesn't survive this, someone else knows what Sarah wanted to happen. A rattle on the doorknob announced that someone was trying to get in. Sarah reached under her pillow and pulled out her Glock. Switching the safety off, she leveled it at the door and waited. The lock clicked and the door swung opened. Martin, unfazed by the firearm that was pointed at him, entered the room and closed the door.

"Good news," He said as he sad down on a nearby chair, "is that we have lost the Medal for now. Bad news is that we are screwed if it finds us here."

"Did you get the C4 from the truck?"

Martin held up a bag in response.

"Good. Let's get it ready to go. My bet is it won't take it long to track us down. If it sees the truck, it will figure out where we are. For now, all we can do is try to make sure we have the upper hand when it comes."

There wasn't much of the Compound 4. It was enough to blow a door off its hinges if needed. Sarah doubted that it would be enough to stop a terminator but it might be enough to slow it down. Martin spent a few hours setting the C4 around the floor in front of the door. With any luck, it would take a leg off the Machine. Worst case scenario, the terminator found itself with a fairly busted leg.

Sarah pulled the mattresses off the two beds and moved them under the small window that was almost directly across the room from the door. This would be their barricade and escape route when the time came. Once she was satisfied with the placement of the two mattresses, she began moving anything that the terminator might use as a weapon away from the door.

All that was left to do was wait and see when the terminator would come. Sarah sat quietly on a chair as she loaded both shotguns and placed ammo in easy to reach places. They were going to need to be quick when the fighting started. Martin had stretched out on the floor for a light nap. He had been showing signs of fatigue for hours and Sarah had finally ordered him to rest. As much as she was tired too, her sleep would have to wait.

Nearby a gunshot sounded. martin jumped at the noise and drew his own pistol in response. Sarah cocked both shotguns and stood up, her eyes never leaving the door. The Machine had finally tracked them down. The battle was about to begin.


	26. Ch 25: James Ellison, 2009

Ellison had pulled his old bulletproof vest out of the closet. It was a souvenir from his time in the FBI. He ran his hand over it for a brief moment as he allowed his thoughts to turn to the memories he had made while in the Bureau. Ellison pulled the vest on over his shirt and strapped it until it was comfortable over his shirt. Moving quickly, Ellison moved to the makeshift gun cabinet that Sarah had built behind a large dresser. The wall had been hollowed out and two shotguns and an AR-15. Ellison picked up the AR and an ammo box that held a dozen chips for the weapon. He wasn't sure how Sarah had gotten her hands on so much hardware but he wasn't going to complain today about it.

"Mr. Ellison," Lauren said quickly. "Let me come with you. You are going to need some help."

He shook his head and went to the back door. "No. Someone needs to stay with Savannah and your sister. If we are killed, you need to find John. He is going to need help. I've written down some instructions and left it with Cameron's body. If we are not back in two days, assume we are dead. Take everything out of this house. Take Cameron's body, the Turk, all of it. Then blow the house and run. Do you understand me?"

Lauren nodded her head. "Good luck, James."

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. Just say a prayer for us."

Closing the door behind him, Ellison walked up the the SUV and drove off to help Sarah.


	27. Ch 26: Sarah Connor, 2009

There had been a total of five gunshots since the first. The Machine must have been going room to room in search of its prey. The doorknob jiggled slightly. Someone was trying to get in. A second later, the door went flying off its hinges.

The Triple-Eight moved into the room and began his search. Sarah looked at Martin and than nodded her head. Martin flipped the switch on his detonator and the room shook as the sound of an explosion ripped through the air. Sarah felt the the shockwave of the C4 push against the mattress. She was grateful that she had the cover that she did.

Looking around the mattress, Sarah waited for the smoke and dust to settle. She let out a cuss as she realized that the C4 had not had the impact that they wanted. The whole left side of the terminator was stripped of flesh. The exoskeleton seemed to be in tact as it stepped forward. The only real visible effect that Sarah could see was a limp as it moved. Sarah moved just in time as two slugs smashed into the wall where her head was only seconds before. She raised her shotgun and exposed herself only long enough to place two rounds into the Machine.

Martin was quickly diving in and out of cover to place his own blasts. Between the two shotguns, they were able to push the terminator back a bit. The remnants of flesh were quickly shredded away so that only the medal skeleton. Despite the damage that it was taking, Sarah didn't want to remain pinned down like this for much longer. She turned her weapon on the windows and pulled the trigger. The glass shattered out into the alleyway. After loading several fresh shells into her shotgun, Sarah jumped out the window. She threw herself against the wall of the motel and then provided cover as Martin dashed to the window and jumped out.

"Head for the road." Sarah said quickly as she reached into her pocket for more shells. "Get to the truck and let's get the hell out of here!"

Martin nodded his head as he stood up and headed towards the road. He made it only a few feet when a dark shadow planted itself between Martin and the road. Sarah swore as she pumped her shotgun and fired in again at the Machine in the room. This new figure was the triple-eight that had been hunting Martin the day Sarah had found him. It must have heard the gunfire and came to investigate. They were trapped between two terminators.

"Damn." Martin shouted as he began firing his own weapon.

Sarah had emptied her shotgun again at the terminator in the room. The Machine was beginning to show major signs of damage now from the constant gunfire it was receiving. The chest plate was dented and breached. The joints at the elbows and shoulders were no longer functioning and the lip has worsened. Sarah drew her Glock and took aim. If she could get off a few good shots, she might be able to nick the chip. If she could do that…

She took a deep breath before she pulled the trigger. Luck must have been on her side as the Medal began powering down and glitching out. Sarah turned and raised her Glock at the triple-eight. She emptied the clip on the Machine but it kept coming. It was almost upon Martin when a burst of machine-gun fire sounded. The terminator began to turn when a second burst sounded and Sarah could see the sparks of the bullets smashing into it's skull. A third burst and the Machine fell to the ground.

Walking down the alleyway was Ellison. He was carrying one of Sarah AR-15s and was loading a new clip into the weapon. Sarah nodded her head to him before she slipped back into the motel room and drew her knife. Slowly, she moved over to the twitching terminator and removed its chip. By the time she crawled back out of the room, Martin had done the same to the other triple-eight.

"Are you alright?" Ellison asked.

Sarah nodded her head.

"The police are going to show up soon. Let's load up our new friends and get out of here. Martin, come give me a hand. Sarah, would you please bring the truck around?"

"Right." Sarah started towards the front of the building. She turned around long enough to say, "James, thank you."

Ellison smiled before he bend down and picked the terminator's legs up. Martin picked up the arms and together they lifted the heavy frame.


	28. Ch 27: John Connor, 2026

Lauren sat next to John as he cried. He had been crying for the last ten minutes. Lauren, upon seeing John's state, pushed the other members of Command out of the room and shut the door on them. John was grateful for this. He wasn't sure he could take it right this moment. John only cried harder when Lauren declared Sarah Connor dead.

"I'm so sorry, John. She had been so sick for such a long time. With her cancer, she should have left us many years ago. She fought. She refused to leave this earth until she found you. Sarah was the head of the Resistance for many years. She was very special to a lot of us. But now…She loved you. She loved you very much, John."

John had to take several deep breaths before he had calmed himself down enough to speak. "I never thought she would die. We've been through so much. We always survived. She was always there for me. She had the answers and the plans. What am I going to do now?"

"There isn't an easy answer here." Lauren sighed. "John, you are the head of this army, now. Whatever you choose, we will follow. I know that isn't easy for you, but your mother believed in you. We all believe in you. From now on, Command will look to you. Your mother did leave you with some of the answers. Command will help you where we can, but if we are to win this war, you must be able to lead us."

John nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak. He could already feel the tears building up for another round. He took several more deep breaths to keep his emotions in check. There would be a time for mourning, but this wasn't it. He could still save his mother, he just had to get home.

"I need to tell Command about your mother's passing. This news will affect Savannah harder then the others. She looked up to Sarah like a mother figure. John, when you are ready, the soldier outside will have orders to bring you to General Ellison or myself. I'll have the cyborg John Henry held in lockdown until you wish to see him."

Lauren stood and placed a hand on John's shoulder before leaving. The sound of the door clicking shut caused John to jump slightly. He was left in the room alone with his now deceased mother. He wasn't sure how long he had sat there. It could have been minutes but it felt like hours.

Finally, he stood up and gave his mother a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you again, soon."

The soldier, a sergeant, looked back at John for a second before opening a door and pushing through the throng of refugees and TechCom soldiers. Not wishing to get separated, John stayed close to the sergeant.

"You keep looking at me, Sergeant. What to tell me why?" John asked.

The soldier gently nudged a group out of their way. "I'm sorry, General. I've acted as General Sarah Connor's guard for years. As night, when her nightmares where at their worst, she would call out for you. I asked her once who John Connor was. She simply told me he was her son. He was the only one who could save us from the Machines. I thought you would be older."

John couldn't help but smile. "I guess that is fair. It would make sense that I should be older than what I am."

"Forgive me, sir. I hope that I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"Don't worry about it, Sergeant. I'm sure you are not the first person to wonder such things."

"Yes, sir. Command had gathered in room A-12." The sergeant pointed to a door. "I'll wait out here until I receive further orders."

"Thank you Sergeant."

John pushed the door open and step inside. It was a slightly bigger room then the one they had met in previously. A round table sat in the middle of the room and the members of Command sat round it. Ellison was the rest to rise to his feel upon see John. He had removed his suit jacket. Without the jacket, John could see that he the man had lost a lot of weight. Lauren and Savannah both stood at the same time. Both looked like they had been crying. Martin, who sat away from the others, looked at John with emotionless eyes. In his right hand was his sidearm, in his left was a bottle of liquor. He didn't stand. He just took another swig of his drink.

"Behold." Martin said loudly and very slurred. "The great John Connor. General, I would like to request permission to parade the troops for you."

"Martin," Ellison hissed. "This is not the time or place."

Martin didn't take much notice of what Ellison had said. "Do you remember the demerit I gave you? Do you Connor? How was I to know I was giving my commanding officer a demerit. You won't hold that against me, will you?"

"No, I won't hold that against you. You are too fine of a soldier."

"Good. Then I won't hold your disappearance against you."

"Martin!" Savannah screamed. "That is enough. He just lost his mother and the Resistance just lost a great soldier. Why don't you show some respect?"

"Oh? I'm sorry. I didn't realize he lost his mother. Because it wasn't like she meant something to each of us here. I might have become somewhat of a drunk, but she was my family too. She was all of our family! Hell, we were all each other had back in the day. We all bleed together. Where was John during all of this? Gone! Nowhere to be found."

Ellison crossed the room faster than anyone. He picked the drunken soldier up by his shirt and shook him.

"Ellison," John said quickly. "Don't. He is right. I wasn't around when I should have been. This is all my fault. Let him go. He just needs time, like the rest of us."

"You're lucky." Ellison pulled Martin towards the door and threw him out of the room. "Martin, heaven knows I love you like a brother. I would take a bullet for you any day, but if you show you face in the presents of John Connor again while you have been drinking, John won't be able to stop me. Go, sleep it off, old friend."

"Your mother's death has hit all of us very hard." Lauren said after the door had been shut. "Martin is not the same man he was before Judgment Day. He spent years organizing and leading troops in the field. Each battle drove him a little farther away from all of us. Sarah was the only one he seemed to respond to. It was after he was pulled from active field duty—due to injury—that he began drinking. She was the one that saved Martin from killing himself that first night."

"Each of us in this room can recount a dozen times where Sarah Connor saved our lives." Ellison said as he retook his seat. "What are you orders, John?"

John looked at each face. It scared him to see the faces of the Command looking expectedly at him. The fate that he never wanted, that he fought to change, had finally caught up to him. He wanted to go home. He wanted to run again from his fate, from his responsibilities. But it wasn't an option anymore. The only way he could hope to return to his own time was to fight this war.

"Ellison, please show me what our lines look like. Savannah, I need all the intelligence we have on where the Medal's forces are. Also, please inform the sergeant outside to find Lieutenant Reese. Lauren, I will speak with John Henry as soon as we finish here. Savannah will come with me."

The Resistance Command quickly moved to complete the orders John had issued.

John Henry sat behind a sheet of bulletproof glass. Although the glass was one way, it didn't seem to stop the cyborg. He was looking right at John and Savannah. Standing behind John was Derek. His uncle was shift uncomfortably under the unnatural gaze of the cyborg.

"I don't like it." Derek finally said as he checked his weapon for the third time. "Maybe I should be in there with you."

"He won't hurt us." Savannah said.

"All due respect, ma'am, but how can you be so sure?"

"When I was a little girl, he and I would talk all the time. He became the friend that I needed. Later, he helped to save my life when Skynet tried to kill me." Savannah glanced over at Derek. "He won't harm us."

John walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Stay here Derek. Make sure we are not interrupted for any reason."

"Sir."

Savannah slipped passed John and he closed the door. He took a seat directly in front of the cyborg. Savannah, on the other hand, had walked up to her long lost friend and embraced him. John Henry blinked, obviously unsure how to react, before returning the embrace.

"Savannah," he said in a monotone voice. "It is good to see you again. You have changed. You are no longer the little girl I knew once."

She smiled. "No, I'm not. I grew up. War took my childhood away from me. Skynet—"

"My brother?" John Henry asked, not realizing that he had cut Savannah off.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"When I was hooked up to the computer servers, I was attacked by another AI. He was just like me. A brother. He caused this destruction? The war?"

"Yes." Savannah sat down next to her friend. "Skynet destroyed all the world. Humans nearly vanished overnight. There is a good chance we will not survive the month. The T-600's will overrun this compound and kill us all if something doesn't change."

John Henry nodded. His eyes fell to the floor. There were a few seconds of silence before he looked up at John. He cocked his head slightly. His normally blank face had a look of questioning written upon it.

"I know you…from somewhere."

"I haven't met you before John Henry. My name is—"

"John Connor. Your mother is Sarah Connor. Your uncle is Derek Reese. There was another. I can't seem to recall any information on this one. Strange, I feel like I should know the other one."

John didn't say anything immediately. He felt a deep sadness building up inside of him. Slowly he broke eye contact. The memories were still quite fresh for him and remembering was painful.

"Cameron." John looked up. "Her name was Cameron. She was my friend. My mother and I sent her to kill you. We thought you were Skynet. My mother and I confronted Catherine Weever and when we came down to the basement, you were gone. All that was left was Cameron's body. This is why I followed you. I've lost too much to this damn war. My father died before I was born, my uncle while we were fighting to stop Judgment Day. Today, in 2026, I lost my mother to this war. I won't lose Cameron as well."

"She meant a great deal to you, I can see that. Something, inside of me, tells me you meant a great deal to her. Yet, I don't know how I know that. It is something I shouldn't understand. I shouldn't be able to feel anything, and yet I feel her fondness for you. You are her world." He blinked the leaned forward. "She was a machine, like this body?"

John nodded.

"Savannah," the cyborg looked back at his friend. "This is all my fault. I have files of coming through time. I don't recall this Cameron very well, but I feel her. Deep in the back of my mind." He reached up and rubbed his head slightly. "It is her chip isn't it?"

Savannah nodded.

"Then I am why this world is so bad. I took you away from 2009." He looked at John. "We must return and fix this. My brother must be stopped." John Henry stood up and walked towards the door. He was only stopped by John as he grabbed the cyborg's arm.

"You are going to stay here. I need you in order to get Cameron back. Until we find a way to do that, I want you to stay put. Savannah, you'll be in charge of him. Keep him here for now." John stood and passed both of them. "You are right, John Henry. If we can get back to 2009, we can stop this."

John left the room. As the door closed, he found his uncle standing in front of him. This time, it was John's turn to feel uncomfortable. He wasn't sure how Derek was going to react to the news he had just heard.

"Tell me, General, was anything said in there true?"

"Yes. All of it."

"John…" Derek took a deep sigh. "I don't know what to say. I'm a little pissed that you didn't tell me I was your uncle. You could have told me."

"And you would have believed me?"

Derek shook his head. "I guess not."

"Come." John said. "We have work to do."


	29. Ch 28: Catherine Weever, 2026

(Note from author: Hey, everyone! I hope that you are enjoying this project. I sure had fun writing it. If you find that you have a few moments, I would love to hear what you think. I still have lots left to this adventure and will posting stuff just as fast as I can so that y'all can read and enjoy. Thanks so much.)

Catharine kept looking for signs that the resistance was present. Other then a few mines and some barbed wire fences, there was no protection in this sector. It made her feel…nervous. Something was wrong.

"Is this part always so illy protected?" Her Scottish accent breaking the silence.

Britney shook her head. The TechCom soldier seemed just as nervous about the situation as the terminator. "Normally, t-this area is h-heavily mined. T-there should be traps e-everywhere to keep Metal out. T-the path we are on s-should be the only s-save one. It almost l-looks like someone h-has been removing our e-equipment. It m-must have t-taken months. Oh, d-damn…the M-medal must h-have someone inside t-the Resistance. I-it is the only t-thing that explains this."

"Then we must hurry. If John Henry is here, we can't let him be captured by Skynet. It would mean the end of all of us." Catharine began walking at a faster pace, leaving her guide in her wake.

"W-wait up!"

Catharine stopped and turned. Her companion was jogging to make up the ground. Catherine's CPU noticed the mistake seconds before the blast happened. Britney stepped outside the safety of the path and her foot came down on a mine. The ground shook slightly at the explosion. Britney's body was thrown into the air and rolled within inches of another mine. Once the dust had settled, Catharine moved to the human's side. Britney was gasping for air as she held her bleeding stump where her leg once resided.

"P-please, h-help me! P-please, I d-don't want to d-die!" The woman begged as the color drained from her face.

"You're bleeding out."

"P-please, I'm n-not ready to d-die."

The CPU calculated that Britney's chances of survival were less than twenty percent. Every few seconds, that percentage was dropping. It didn't make sense to help. Termination was the only logical option. Yet…something inside the T-1001 felt pity for the woman. Despite her better judgment, Catharine ripped some of Brittany's jacket into a strip of cloth and tied it around the stump. The blood flow lessened. Without much effort, Catharine picked her up and began walking down the trail.

"They w-will have h-heard the explosion. T-they will b-be coming." Britney mumbled as she shivered in Catharine's arms.

"Then all you have to do is hold on. Help is coming."

"I l-lied to you e-earlier. I'm a d-deserter. I w-was scared and s-so I r-ran away from m-my post."

"Why are you telling me this?" Catharine looked down in confusion.

"Y-you are m-my friend." She gasped slightly and her shivering was becoming more violent. "I d-don't want to d-die with y-you having a f-false image of m-me."

"You're not going to die." She knew it was almost certainly a lie. Britney had lost a lot of blood. "Besides, lying is nothing to be ashamed of. We all do it from time to time."

"I d-don't like d-doing it to a f-friend."

"And what makes us friends?"

"M-most everyone h-hates me. I c-complain a lot. You are t-the first to p-put up with me. D-doesn't that make us f-friends?"

Catharine said nothing. She hadn't many friends in life. Savannah had been her daughter. The little girl had become a huge part of the terminator's life when she went to the past. Mr. Ellison had also been a loyal employee. He was probably the closest thing to a friend she had…until now.

"I've been lying to you this whole time." Catharine watched as the dying girl gave a confused look of her own. "I am not part of the Resistance, at least no' TechCom. I am part of another group who wished to destroy Skynet. I'm not who you think I am."

Ahead, the sounds of a car could be heard. The vehicle quickly pulled up besides the two women and began asking questions. Who they were? What happened? Did they see any Medal?

Catharine only response was, "She needs medical attention right away. I have to see whoever is in command of this base, the enemy might be closer than you think."


	30. Ch 29: John Connor, 2026

The alarm had been blazing for the last twenty minutes. John had Derek had taken off at a full run. The people they passed in the hall were panicking. John couldn't blame them. This was the second call to arms in one day.

"John." Derek said quickly as he shoved a door open. "What is going on here?"

"I don't know, Derek." John stepped out into the courtyard. The soldiers were rushing in every direction. Officers were trying to organize their ranks. "I'm from the past, remember? You have been here longer than I have."

"Yeah." Derek said as he looked down at his rifle. He switched the safety off the weapon. "Guess I should ask someone else."

"Yeah." John said with a chuckle. He reached out and grabbed a soldier who was running by. "Hey! What the hell is going on?"

"Let me go, I've got to—" The soldier's face pales as he realized who he was talking to.

"Privet! This is General John Connor. You sure as hell better show him some damn respect." Derek said as he stepped forward and stood directly behind John.

"Sirs!" The soldier saluted. "I don't realize…I'm…sorry."

"Soldier, do you want to tell us what is going on?" Derek asked.

"Sir," The soldier looked around nervously. "Um…we're not sure what is going on. We haven't been told anything, just to get ready. Honestly, we're really scared that this is the second time today this has happened. Someone said we already have suffered one wounded. They are bring her in now."

"Alright, report to your unit." John said with a dismissive nod of his head.

The soldier saluted and ran off.

"What do you think?" Derek asked.

"I think we need to see who is wounded. Figure out what is going on there. If the Machines are coming, we need to know."

"Agreed." Derek licked his lips. "What is left of the 132nd is near the medic tents."

"Come on."

John and Derek moved quickly through the courtyard. Derek began shoving soldiers out of his way as the crowds began growing in numbers. As they came closer to the medical tents, John was shocked to find an undisciplined crowd that was moving in. Derek began throwing people out of the way as he loudly announced John's presence.

"Hey, what is going on right now?" Alison said as she joined John and Derek.

"These poor excuses for soldiers are not letting us through. Alison, round up the others and help us keep this mob at bay." Derek snapped.

"Roger that, sir." Alison took off.

A few moments later, Alison returned with Kyle and the others. Between the seven of them, they were able to clear a path to the front of the growing mob. There were a few soldiers attempting to keep the others at bay but John could see they were looking this fight.

"Derek!" John said.

"On it, General." Derek turned to his brother. "Kyle, reinforce those men over there. Alison, take the right side. Keep these people back."

John nodded his head and walked up to the tent. A guard met him and quickly explained what was going on. John left the soldier orders to get on the radio and tell Command to get over to the hospital tent on the double. The mob was getting out of control and it was going to take a lot of manpower to get them to leave and return to their ranks.

Moving into the tent, John found a fairly organized. The front part of the tent was much like a waiting room. There was a desk where a nurse was sitting. In front of her was a stack of papers. Behind her was the flaps of a divider that John guessed led back to the doctors and surgery.

"Excuse me, ma'am." John said walking up to the desk. "I'm General John Connor, Command. Can you tell me about the wounded woman who just came in."

The nurse looked up before saying, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid that I don't have a lot of information to give you. It looks like she might have stepped on one of our mines. Her leg was blown off, sir."

John nodded his head. "So we are not under attack?"

"Honestly, sir, I don't know. You might want to talk with her friend. She is right over there."

John turned around to find Catharine Weever sitting on a chair. Thanking the nurse, John made his way over to the terminator and sat down next to her. The T-1001 didn't blink as he sat down. She didn't even look at him.

"She is in there." Catharine said. "She is probably going to die. I calculated her odds of live at less the three percent when they finally took her to surgery. I'm no' sure why I care. I could have just terminated her and come here on my own."

"You're not Skynet."

"But I was created by Skynet. I'm a terminator. I was designed to kill. I felt pity for her, John. She is my friend." Catharine turned to look at him. "Terminators are no' suppose to have friends. We are no' suppose to feel pity. I think I'm broken."

"Listen to me, Mrs. Weever." John licked his lips. "There is nothing wrong with you. Cameron was beginning to grow beyond her programing as well. I think you might be evolving. You've learned how to ignore your programing to do what you want. It doesn't mean you are broken. You, Cameron, John Henry. You are all very special."

Catherine nodded her head. "Thank you, John."

"Listen, I know your friend is fighting for her life right now, but I need to know what has happened. The nurse said that your friend stepped on a landmine. Is this true? Are we under attack?"

"Not yet. Britney did step on the mine, but there is more to the story. Someone has cleared your southern border of its defense. You have a Gray among your soldiers. My guess is that Skynet will make its move very soon." Catherine turned her head towards the front of the tent. "These humans will no' make it, John. We need to get my son and return to our time."

"John Henry is here. We have him safe and sound in our bunker."

"Good," Catherine stood up. "Then we need to get him and leave, now."

Before John could respond, the flaps to the tent were pulled open and Ellison walked into the tent. Behind him was Savannah and Lauren. John stood up just as Savannah broke into a run and threw her arms around Catherine.

"Mom!" Tears were flowing from Savannah's eyes. "I've missed you."

Catherine looked at John for a moment. She seemed slightly startled by her daughter's reaction. Slowly, however, the terminator returned the hug and stroked her daughter's hair.

"She has always been the optimist in our little family." Ellison said with a smile. "She was the only one who never lost hope of seeing you and John again. She missed her mother very much. It is good to see you again, Mrs. Weever."

"Thank you, James for watching over my daughter." She glanced at Savannah. "Do you know what I am?"

"They told me when I was old enough to understand." Savannah ended her embrace and smiled. "You were my mother. I get that you are different from all of us, but all I can see is my mother. I wish you would have been there to tell me yourself."

"Then, when the time is right, I will tell you." Catherine smiled. "I promise that I will return to my time and I will never leave your side again."

John cleared his throat and looked around at the members of Command. "Ok, we do have a situation. Mrs. Weever believes that we will be in for an attack at any moment. It seems that there are traitors among us. Our defenses have been sabotaged. We need to move all of our forces to their positions now." John crossed over to the flap of the tent and shouted, "Derek, get in here."

"If we are in for an attack, we need to get control of this mob now." Lauren said quick as she jerked her thumb towards the open flap that Derek was pushing through.

"Right." John said. "Here is what we are going to do. We need to move everyone into position now. Lauren, go find Martin. Let him know that he is returning to active duty. He is a soldier that is very respected around here. Get him to deal with this crowd. He is going to take command of our northern forces. Derek."

"Sir." Derek said as he moved into stand closer to John.

"Take what is left of your unit and move to the southern defense. You are going to have total command of the south. Congratulations on your promotion. It must be a very proud day for you, General."

"John, are you sure?" Derek ask. "There are more seasoned officers here. They will not take too kindly to my promotion."

"I don't care." John said. "I need people that I can trust. Right now, the people who I trust all belong to Command. So, Derek, you are going to act as the commanding officer of our southern defense. Move what manpower you can in that direction. We are in a state of confusion and are defenseless according to the report I am getting from Catherine. If I were Skynet, I would strike now."

"Sir." Derek said quickly. He turned and rushed out of the tent.

Lauren gave John a nod before she too took off to find Martin. It left John, Catherine, Savannah and Ellison.

"John." Ellison said. "Your mother wanted me to give you something should she pass away before she could give it to you herself."


	31. Ch 30: Sarah Connor, 2010

A year had passed since John had left. Sarah was sitting on her bed. Today was the first time in years that she had stayed in bed well passed the rising of the sun. She wasn't there because she wished to relax, nor was she there because she didn't feel well. Sarah Connor just couldn't find the motivation to puller herself out of the bed. She felt the despair of failing. She had lost her son. She was suppose to raise the man who would save mankind from the Machines, and now he was nowhere to be found. Her world seemed dark.

Over the past year, Sarah and her new little family had worked hard to fight against Skynet. They had applied enough pressure that Kaliba had gone into hiding. The once strong, militant company was now licking their wounds and scared. The team had also been able to hunt down and destroy several terminators within the city of LA. But despite all of that, Sarah wasn't anywhere closer to finding Danny Dyson, Skynet, or her missing son.

There was a knock on the door. Sarah didn't say anything but the door opened anyway. Savannah rushed into the room and jumped on the bed. The girl had grown much in the last year.

"Come to the kitchen, Sarah! Lauren made pancakes for breakfast."

"I'm not sure I'm up for breakfast this morning. I just need some time alone."

"Why?"

"I'm just sad. Just buried in memories of loved ones."

"Oh." Savannah said with a smile. "You miss John. Like I miss Mommy and John Henry."

Sarah looked at the girl and nodded. She couldn't speak. Her emotions were too close to the surface today.

"Don't cry, Sarah. We'll see them again. Mr. Ellison says that God will guide them back to us. I'm sure Mommy will watch over your son."

Sarah couldn't help but smile slightly. The girl's enthusiasm was contagious. "Thank you Savannah. Why don't you head down. I'll be there soon."


	32. Ch 31: John Connor, 2026

Ellison had led John and Catherine deep into the underground bunker. He had taken great care to make sure that no one else followed them. Once they had descended to the lowest levels, he unlocked a door and stepped into a large room. The tables inside the room were covered with old computers, the Turk, and the equipment that use to be in the basement with John Henry.

"Sarah had me take the equipment right before we left. She thought that you could use it. Your mother also wanted you to have this." Ellison walked over to a large bed covered with a sheet. He ripped the cover off to reveal Cameron's body. the skin had healed from the wounds she had gained from breaking Sarah out of prison. She also looked like she had aged twenty years.

"Cameron!" John ran to her side. "I am glad to see that you took care of her."

"This is my equipment." Catherine said as she walked in. "It is all hooked up wrong. Mr. Ellison, I will need someone to give me a hand if I am to have this running before tomorrow ends."

"Very well, Mrs. Weever." Ellison walked towards the door. "I'll send someone down. John, we need to go. If Skynet is really as close as we fear, TechCom is going to need you to lead us."

"I will send for you once I have the Time Displacement Equipment running." Catherine said. "Mr. Ellison, please send John Henry down here. He should be close to me so I can make sure he does no' fall into Skynet's hands."

"What do we know?" Martin asked, slightly out of breath. He had just arrived and was attempting to strap on his body armor while balancing his rifle in his arms.

"Our scouts have found a mass of medal moving towards our southern flank." Lauren said as she pointed to a map. "They will be here by this time tomorrow if they keep their pace."

"How are our defenses?" Martin finally gave up the balancing act and dropped his rifle onto the table.

"Thin at best." Derek said with a grunt.

"We have such a small number of troop and such a large area to cover." Ellison shook his head. "If they hit us on the flanks, our lines will collapse. Our centers are not much better. There is a lot of confusion on the southern flank."

"We are trying to clear up the confusion," Derek said as he stood to his full height and crossed his arms across his chest. "The problem we are running into is the officers are all attempting to take command. There is no union. I'm going to meet with them as soon as we are finished here."

Martin finally had his armor strapped on. He adjusted it slightly and then looked over the map. "Our lines will not hold. We are going to have to redeploy these troops." He pointed to the western flank. "The west is fairly uneven terrain. The Machines will not send their forces that way. They will lose most of their shock troops if they come that way."

"Which is why those troops are there." John said, finally speaking up. "We know there is someone in our ranks who is a Gray. If the enemy has any brains among them, they will know that we have these troops on the west. I would send enough T-600's and Grays into that area so that we don't re-deploy them."

"Which is why we leave them where they are." Derek said quickly. "We can redeploy them in a matter of minutes when we need them but if move them now, we could find ourselves out flanked."

"We will also move the medical equipment and the hospitals into the bunker." Lauren said and she tapped the map. "It is going to take a lot of manpower but it will be better in the long run."

"Command will set up our main radio hub in this room." Ellison said. "Savannah, John, and I will man this room. With our communications, we will be in constant command of the whole battlefield."

"Ok," Martin said as he began sipping on a cup of cold coffee. "I'll talk with the officers on the southern flank. They will no longer give you any lip, Reese."

Derek nodded in response.

"Then we have a plan." John said quietly. "We all have jobs to do."

"Yeah." Ellison said. "Maybe we can stop them here. Remember, we just have to hold them long enough for Mrs. Weever to get her equipment running. Getting John back to his own time is our only priority. We do that and we stop Skynet. May God bring us out of this alive. Everyone, lets get things done. John, there is more I need to discuss with you."

Command quickly separated themselves. John remained in his seat until the room had been cleared. Once he was alone with Ellison, John stood. The older man was leaning up against the table. His eyes were closed and signs of an old, tired soldier could be seen.

"John, there are a few things I think you should know." His voice was soft and just more than a whisper. "There is a way to stop this from happening. Sarah and I spend years trying to find Danny Dyson. He was taken by Skynet around three months before you left. While in the possession of Skynet, Danny was forced to finish his father's work. Despite our efforts, Danny finished his father's work. When he succeeded in building the AI and giving the cursed thing free reign of the world, he was terminated. We found his body a week later. Two days later, Judgment Day happened. We found Danny in an underground complex beneath a warehouse in Northern LA. Sarah and Martin had searched the building once before, but they failed to find anything there. We only went back once Skynet went online. We were able to trace it back to its origin. If you can stop Dyson from building Skynet, we win this war."

"So we stop Dyson…again. What stops someone else from building another AI? From creating Skynet again?"

"I don't have those answers. I just believe God will not let His children perish without a fight. He gave us you. He gave us another chance."

"Besides, I have the answer to your question."

John and Ellison looked up to see Catherine walking in. She had the blank face that John had seen Cameron used many times.

"And what is the answer?" John asked.

"My children." She raised an eyebrow. "I created John Henry so there would be an AI on our side in this war. Mr. Ellison taught him to value human life. Once he is fully operational, he can battle Skynet virtually. If Skynet is destroyed, he can integrate into every system in the world. He will watch for future threats and be able to stop them before they become Skynet."

"What are the chances he turns into Skynet?" Ellison asked.

"I created him. You raised him. He is our son. What do you think?"

Ellison sighed. He looked down at the map and said nothing for several minutes. Finally he said, "He will not turn on us. He might make questionable decisions from time to time, but so did Cameron."

"Cameron is still inside her chip." Catherine said, her eyes falling on John. "He may not fully recognize her presence, but she is influencing John Henry. He has a strong desire to protect you, John."

"Very well. He will be our weapon in this war." John looked at the terminator. "Ellison, tell me everything I need to know to stop this future from happening. Mrs. Weever, we need that equipment working now."


	33. Ch 32: Derek Reese, 2026

The old soldier watched the barren wasteland in front of his position. It was early in the morning and a thick blanket of smog and fog has covered the land before him. It made for an eerie, silent morning. Sure, the world had been silent since Judgment Day, but today was different. It was almost maddening.

Down the line, Derek heard a couple of soldiers whispering to each other. After a few seconds, they begin snickering and chuckling. Moving quietly up the line, Derek moves right behind them.

"Something you wish to share with the rest of us?" Derek asked.

Both soldier jump slightly.

"No sir." One of them says quickly. "We're just trying to keep good moral."

"Tell me," Derek said as he looked out into the fog. "How far can you see?"

The other soldier took a look over is shoulder before responding. "I can't see to far out there. Fog's too thick."

"Then I suggest you spend a little less time making jokes and a little more time watching out for the enemy. We are at war and this…this is the front lines now. If you want to live, you have best keep your wits about you."

"Yes, sir." They both said at the same time.

Derek licked his lips and then moved back to where Alison and Kyle were waiting. As he moved along the line, young and old soldiers duck slightly. Derek shook his head. These people were scared. Hell, he was scared too. The difference between him and those on this line was that Derek knew the plan. All they had to do was hold the Machines back long enough for John to make it home. He had to give his nephew a fighting chance.

"You are a bit uptight today." Kyle said as he rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm up.

"We are about to have our asses handed to us because these soldiers are more occupied with a good chuckle then repelling what is coming." Derek said as he adjusted the earpiece that connected to his radio.

"No." Alison said as she ran a rag over her rifle in an attempt to keep it clean. "There is something that you are not telling us. You forget, LT. We have been fighting alongside you for a long time."

"Alison." Derek snapped. "I need you both to refer to me as 'General' from now on. If I am going to make these soldier follow me into battle, they need to see me as a general, not a LT."

"Sorry." Kyle said with a smile. "It is just hard to remember that my big brother is all fancy now."

Derek rolled his eyes and moved towards the earthworks. He moved so that he was standing with his head just slightly above them. The fog and smog was starting to lift. Finally, a stroke of luck.

"Come on." Alison said as she moved to stand next to him. "What is going on? What are you worried about?"

"It is John." Derek said finally.

"John?" Kyle asked. "Our John? John Connor?"

"You have no idea how true that is." Derek said as he continued to scan the horizon. "Turns out, he is related to us."

"Related? How?" Kyle asked.

"I don't understand it all right now. I just know he is related to us. To make it worse, he isn't even from this time."

"What do you mean?" Alison asked.

"Do you remember those rumors about five or six years ago? The rumors that Command was investigating Time Displacement? Turns out those weren't just rumors. I guess that the Machines have sent terminators into the past to help them gain an upper hand in this war. John came here from the past. We can stop this war from happening but only if we can get John back. That means holding the enemy here and now." Derek could see something flashing just inside the dead trees that marked the edge of the camp. "Kyle, they are here. Move to your sector and tell them to keep an eye on the trees. This is going to get ugly real quick, but we have to hold. For John."

"Roger that, brother." Kyle said as he turned and began jogging down the line.

Derek watched him go before turning back to Alison. "Stay close to me. I am going to need you before too much longer."

The first of the T-600s began moving onto the wasteland that should have been littered with mines, explosives and tripwires. Just as they feared, the tin cans were moving unmolested across the land.

Derek pushed the button on the mic that was attached to his throat. "This is Reese. I need artillery directed at the field right before my position, I have T-600s moving move to engaged my line."

"Copy that." Ellison's voice sounded. "Directing artillery now."

It wasn't long before Derek could hear the whistling sound of the artillery shells above him. He watched as the front lines of the terminators were blown to shreds. After a minute, the shelling slowed and then stopped.

"All officers." Derek said into his mic. "Hold your fire. We are limited on our resources so make every shot count. Hold…Hold…" Derek licked his lips as he lifted his rifle. "Light them up!"

The order was quickly passed and a roar sounded from Derek's line. Derek pushed himself up against he earthworks and began picking his targets. With each squeeze of the trigger, Derek dropped another Machine. Derek thought that they might just be able to hold when an HK tank moved onto the field. The first round it fired exploded just feet from Derek. He felt the force of the explosion lift him into the air and throw him back into the trenches. He landed hard on his side and felt something crush under his weight.

"Derek!" Alison was kneeling next to him.

"I'm alright." Derek said as he sat up. "Damn. The radio."

"What about it?" Alison asked as she helped him to his feet.

"I landed on it. Shit!" He moved back to the earthworks and looked out. "We are not going to be able to hold here for long. We are going to need to redeploy some of our forces. Alison, run back to Command. Let them know what is going on here. I am going to try and meet up with the officers and redress our lines. There is too much confusion. Ask Command for their orders and get me another radio. Go!"

Alison nodded before she took off at a run. The trenches were a maze of fortifications designed to give the Resistance every advantage once the Machines breached the line. He could only see Alison for a few seconds before she turned a corner and vanished into the maze.

Derek picked up his rifle and took a deep breath. He looked out at the battlefield again. It looked like they were holding the Machines off for the time being, but it wouldn't be long before the tin cans deployed more T-600s and HK's onto the field. He needed to get the troops on his eastern flank to move down the line and re-enforce this sector or it was going to be lost long before John could get home.


	34. Ch 33: John Connor, 2026

Confusion seemed to be the rule of the day. The radio was exploding with the communication from the officers on the southern front. Every few minutes a new set of coordinates were called in for artillery strikes. Ellison was quick to send the coordinators to the artillery officers. John had sent Savannah to make sure that the noncombatants were relocated to the deeper, more secure levels of the bunker.

"What does Martin report on the northern front?" John asked as he paced back and forth.

"Minor Medal movement. He reports that they have tested his line but it is nothing he can't hold. His reserves have yet to see the front." Ellison answered as he moved pins on the map.

"What has Derek said?"

"He hasn't checked in since ordering in the artillery. My guess is that there is something wrong with his radio. Judging from the amount of activity we are hearing from his front, I would guess that he is tied up right this second. There have been some chatter about Derek moving about the line."

John leaned over the map when the doors were pushed open and the TechCom sergeant rushed in. He saluted before making his report. "Sir, both of our west and west fronts report no movement. Colonel Huss is asking permission to re-enforce the southern lines."

"Yes, send the Colonel orders to meet up with Derek and redeploy his soldiers." John ordered.

The aid-de-camp saluted and rushed from the room to deliver John's orders to a runner. It wasn't a minute later when Alison entered the room. She was filthy and out of breath.

"Sir," She saluted. "Derek reports heavy confrontation on his front. He doesn't believe we can hold out if we don't redeploy our forces. Also, his radio was destroyed in the action and he is requesting a new one."

John nodded his head. "Colonel Huss is moving his people alongside the southern line. That should give Derek another three hundred soldiers to deploy." John began pacing again. He stopped and looked down at the map. "Ellison, stay here and take over for me. As soon as Weever gets the equipment up and running, send for me."

John picked up a radio and attached it to his belt. he fumbled with an ear piece for a moment before he had that attached as well. Moving to the far wall, he picked up one of the spare rifles that was left there.

"And where will you be?" Ellison asked.

"On the front. We need to buy a few more hours. Redeploy the troops as you see fit."

"God's speed."

John ducked as something exploded overhead. He felt the dirt and pebbles shower his head before he stood back up and continued down the maze of trenches. Alison was just a few feet ahead of him. He continued to follow her until she stopped and pushed herself up against the wall of the trench.

"General!" Alison hissed, using her hand to tell him to get down. "Get down sir."

John dropped down next to her. She held a finger up to her lip and then pointed above. John pushed away from the wall and looked up. He felt his breath leave his body as he spotted a T-600 moving above the trenches. Its head moved around and then fired at something John couldn't see.

Somewhere in the distances, something exploded and someone screamed.

Alison pulled John back against the wall. He looked at her and began feeling his body shaking. It was time to see what John Connor was made of. John reached into his pocket and pulled out a grenade. Alison shook her head, her eyes growing in size. John nodded his head and took a deep breath.

Pulling the pin, John stepped forward and stood up. With a simple toss, he rolled the grenade in-between the Machine's legs. The T-600 stopped and looked down at the explosive and then looked up slowly until it's eyes fell on John. It raised its weapon when the grenade went off. John was forced to duck again as dirt and bits of medal rained down around him. John looked up to see the T-600 without its legs. John raised his rifle and destroyed the chip.

"Where the hell did that one come from?" Alison asked as she joined John.

"They must have broken through our lines." John moved towards the earthworks ahead of him. He crawled up them so he could see up. "Yeah. They've broken our lines."

"How bad is it?" Alison asked.

"They are entering the front of our trenches. Seems that they are entering the trenches and slaughtering our soldiers." John looked to the left. "Derek and Kyle are over there. We need to move quick. It is going to take Colonel Huss some time to redeploy his people. We need to buy him that time."

Alison took the lead as she rushed though the trenches. John was close behind her. The closer they moved to the action, the loud the explosions became and the more screams they could hear. As they rounded the corner, Alison and John were confronted by several dead TechCom soldiers. The ground around them was covered in their fluids. Alison stopped, her body shaking slightly. John placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her past the bodies.

"You alright?" John asked.

"Yes…"Alison said taking deep breaths. "I've just seen too much of this—"

Alison shoved John to the ground. John felt the breath knocked out of him as he landed. Rolling over, John could see another T-600 moving up the trench. Alison was sending burst after burst of at the tin can. John reached for his rifle but couldn't find where it had landed.

"Fire in the hole!" Someone shouted.

Before John could react, he felt Alison jump on top of him. The ground shook and sharp bits of terminator and dirt scattered around what little of him was exposed. Once everything had settled around him, John turned around to find Alison's face above his own.

"Are you alright?" John asked.

"I think so. Are you?"

"Yeah. I seem to be in one piece. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Damn. Would you two get a room already?" Derek said as he moved to kneel next to them. "I sent you to get me a radio, Alison, not to bring me the only man who needs to survive."

Alison quickly pushed off of John and stood up. "Sorry, sir. Colonel Huss is moving up behind us and we need to buy him some time."

"Good." Derek said. He looked down at John. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm good." John brushed himself off before locating his rifle and standing up as well. "What is going on, Derek?"

"They overwhelmed our front lines with their numbers. I was forced to move into the trenches. Right now, our flanks are crumbling and I don't know how much longer—" Derek gave a shout and blood sprayed out from his left shoulder all over John.

Kyle caught his brother. John and Alison reacted in a different manor. Both of them raised their rifles and dropped the Medal that had snuck up on them. It was Alison who fired the final burst.

"I'm alright." Derek snapped as he pulled a bandage out of his pocket and began covering the bleeding shoulder. "As you can see, John, we have Machines all over the damn place. If we can find a way to retake some of the trenches, we will stand a chance to hold them back. Unfortunately, my troops are panicking. They would rather get out instead of hold their ground."

"Ok." John said as he crawled to the top of the earth works. He stuck his head out but pulled it back immediately as a couple of slugs send dirt flying in the air. "Derek, Kyle, find whatever officers you can and have them turn the soldiers around. Alison, give Derek that extra radio."

"Kyle." Derek said quick. "Move down our line and find where Colonel Santiago is. Tell him to move his men to the extreme right of our line. I want him to reform a new line in those trenches and then move forward and create a new front for these bastards to deal with. I want to cause some confusion among the enemy ranks. Alison—"

"Alison is with me." John said quickly.

Derek hesitated before nodding his head. "Right. I'll moved over to the left and see if I can't knock some sense into our people. John, you be careful. Alison, take care of him."


	35. Ch 34: Martin Bedell, 2026

Martin blew into his hands as he watched the distance. Slowly, he walked down the trench. His soldiers were lined up shoulder to shoulder against the earthworks. Each had their rifle aimed and ready. As he walked by the officers, they saluted him.

Something wasn't right to Martin. There had been a few minor advances of the Machines but after a few minutes, they retreated. It was unusually to see a T-600 tuck tail and run. It didn't sit well with him. It really didn't sit well with him that the sounds of war and violence from the southern front could clearly be heard. All of the waiting and all of the noise was bringing to psych out his people.

"Sergeant." Martin said finally turning to look at the young woman who was following him around. "Get Command on the horn. Tell Connor that we have received minimal activity on our front and I request moving some of my reserves to be redeployed on our southern front."

The woman saluted and raced back to the field radio that had been set up for Matin to use. Martin pulled out a set of binoculars from his pocket and began to examine the field before him. He suddenly swore and moved after the sergeant. When he finally caught up with her, she was already on the radio talking with Command.

"Sergeant, forget about moving the men." Martin looked up at the field before him. "This whole thing is a set up. Those first few waves have active all of our traps and mines. There is nothing between us and the Machines. Tell Command we need artillery all across the field and we need it now."

"Command, this is Sergeant Williams, we need an immediate fire mission on the field before us. Repeat, immediate fire mission." The sergeant sat down the mic and looked up at Martin. "Artillery is moving into position."

Martin turned to the officers around him and shouted. "Pass the word, incoming artillery. Prepare the men to prepare to defend themselves."

Just as Martin feared, the Machines were advancing again across the field. This time they were in full force. As they made their way forward, the Resistance shells began dropping all around them. The field lit up with the flames and explosions. Martin moved towards the earthworks and picked up his rifle. This was no skirmish, this was Skynet's play. He had to buy some time for John.


	36. Ch 35: John Connor, 2026

The ground around John was rocky. He was on his belly moving across the ground. All around him, John could fell plasma bullets and explosions missing him by inches. Stopping to catch his breath, he looked over his shoulder. Alison was right behind him along with thirty soldiers that they had managed to collect as they moved through the trenches. John had ordered them to climb up the walls of the trench and crawl towards the trenches that were filled with T-600's and Grays. So far, the plan was working quite well.

"How much further?" Alison asked as he crawled next to him.

"My guess would be another dozen yards that way." John replied as he pointed at the set of trenches he was heading for. "If we can retake that position, Derek can hold out."

Alison nodded and then rolled over so that the soldiers behind her could see her. She raised a hand and began gesturing for the troopers to spread out in a long line. "We are ready, General."

"Good. Move them forward, slowly."

Alison gave the signal and the soldiers started crawling again. John pulled himself forward his his arms and legs. Somewhere behind the terminators was one of their HK tanks. It was raining shells down on the panicking humans. One of the shells landed a yard in front of John. He stopped and curled up in a ball as the earth shook from the explosion. As the dirt settled, John checked himself to see if he was hurt. It didn't look like it. Alison has crawled over to him and was running her hands frantically over him to see for herself if he was alright.

"I'm not hurt." John said quickly. He pushed the button on his mic and said into the radio, "Derek, we are almost in position. When I tell you, have your people begin pushing back. We'll clear out these trenches and you take them."

"Roger that." Derek said. "Standing by for your signal."

John gave the signal for the soldiers to move into position. Once they were lined up along the top of the trench, John reached into his pocket and pulled out two more grenades. He handed one of them to Alison and pulled the pin on the other. He took a deep breath and then tossed it into the trench before him. Alison followed his example. The few soldiers who had grenades of their own did likewise.

Within the trench, John could hear someone attempting to call out a warning when the explosions cut them off. Moving up to the very edge of the trench, John began firing down upon the survivors. There were a handful of humans and many Machines.

"Derek, move your people forward." John said into his mic. "We should have this trench emptied soon."

John dropped down into the trench and picked off the last few Grays. He advanced down the trench and fired upon the T-600s that were now bunched up in the tight space. It made it real easy to pick them off.

"Alison, take half the men and cover our six. Derek should be pushing a whole lot of them right into our position before long. I'll take care of these one."

"Right." Alison said before she called out orders to the soldiers.

John pulled a couple of dead Grays on top of each other to build a makeshift barricade that he could hide behind as he fired upon the terminators. Another grenade was tossed down the trench and John ducked to avoid getting dirt in his eyes.

"Reloading!" John shouted as he dropped his empty clip and shoved another one into his rifle.

"Sir." Alison was crouching next to John. "We've got a lot of Grays tripping over each other back here. I've got them pinned down but I don't know if we will be able to keep them at bay for long."

"Do the best that you can!" John fired a burst at the closest T-600 and took its head clean off. "We are going to hold this spot until Derek can join us. He will clear out the trenches behind us. He will be here. Just hold on."

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

John dropped another empty clip and rolled onto his side so he could look at her. "Don't be so formal with me. You don't need my permission to speak."

Alison nodded her head and leaned down to kiss John.

"Just in case we don't make it through this. I want you to know." Alison tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

John was shocked as he watched Alison move away from him and back towards her troops. He was surprised that Alison would kiss him but at the same time, he liked it. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned back to the battle at hand.

Ammunition was running low. John was down to his last chip. Some of his men were digging though the bodies around them to find weapons and ammunition. It had been almost an hour since John and his little band had taken this section of the trenches back and there was still no sign of Derek. Every time John called him on the radio, Derek would promise that he was close and would ask them to just hold on a little longer.

John dropped his empty clip and tossed his rifle away. "I'm out, someone take my spot."

One of the soldiers crawled next to him and began using an enemy weapon to hold back the Medal. John moved towards the bodies and began looking for anything that could be used. Much to his disappointment, almost anything that could be used had been used. Grunting in frustration, John gave up his search and moved over to Alison's side.

"How are you fixed for ammunition?" John asked once he was close enough for her to hear.

"Almost out." Alison responded. "I'm down to my last clip. Most of them are as well. Where is Derek?"

"Last time I checked, he told me he was close." John hit the button on the mic again. "Reese, we need you here now! We are out of ammunition. In less than a minute, we will all be dead."

"Hold on John." Derek's voice crackled over the radio. "I just need to clear though these last few Grays…"

John watched as the remaining enemy forces on Alison's front were cut down. A moment passed before a couple of TechCom soldiers rounded the corner and stopped as they called out for John's men to hold their fire.

"Those are Resistance fighters." John said to the soldiers round him. "If you have any ammunition left, get down to that other end and help them out."

The soldiers began deploying themselves and giving John's worn-out troops a breather. Derek and Kyle quickly moved so that they were standing beside John and Alison. Both brothers were covered in blood and looked exhausted.

"You made it." John said.

"Told you we would." Derek answered back.

"We are holding them." John said as he pointed towards the makeshift barricade of bodies.

"Good." Derek said. "I spoke with Colonel Huss not twenty minutes ago. He has his troops deployed and we are digging in. I don't know how much longer we can hold them, but it should be long enough to buy you some time."

John nodded. "Keep the pressure up. Thank you for everything."

"It has been an honor, John." Derek smiled. "Take care of yourself."

John turned to look at Alison when Ellison's voice crackled into his ear. "John Connor, we need you back at Command. Mrs. Weever is finished. It is time."

Pushing the button on his mic, John said, "Roger that, Ellison. I'll be there shortly."

The whistling sound should have been enough for John to guess what had happened, but for some reason he just couldn't understand how one moment he had been talking to Ellison and the next moment he was laying on his back. He tried to take a breath but found that he had forgotten how to breath. He just sat there for several seconds gasping.

"John!"

He heard his name being called. He looked around until his eyes found Alison. She was kneeling over him and calling out his name. It was only then that he realized what had happened. He took a deep breath.

"Where is Derek? Where is Kyle?" John wheezed out.

"They pushed us out of way." Alison said as tears began dripping off her cheeks. "One of the HK missiles dropped right on top of them. They're…"

John tried to sit up. Once he did, he felt the blood leave his face as he looked upon the mangled remains of his leg. His left foot had been torn to shreds by the explosion. The leg up to the knee was mangled as well.

"Ah, shit." John said as he looked around. "I'm not walking out of here on this. I need to move now if I am going to make it back to Command in time."

"Come on." Alison said as she stood up. She wiped away her tears and then held out her hand. "I'll help you."

John gasped in pain as Lauren examined his leg. Alison has managed to half carry John back to the bunker and into the Command Room. Ellison had taken one look at John' leg before he sent the sergeant to find Lauren and bring her back to John. Due to the lack of time, Lauren was simply throwing a bandage on the open wounds.

"You will need to have someone look at it once you get back to your own time." Lauren said. I can't do anything about the broken bones at this point in time. Just get back and have it looked at."

John nodded his head.

"We don't have much time." Ellison said as he checked his pistol. "We need to move now if we are going to get John down to Mrs. Weever before this place is overrun. Alison, help me carry him."

Before John could protest, the two had pulled his arms around their shoulders. Ellison had Lauren and Savannah clear the way in front of them. The hills of the bunker were packed with wounded soldiers attempting to make it to medical or soldiers setting up makeshift defenses in an attempt to hold back the Machines when they broke in.

They had reached the final flight of stairs before they would reach the basement when Martin met them. He was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. In his right hand he held his sidearm and he was favoring his left. Most of his left shoulder looked like it had been blown away. Lauren tried to examine his wounds, but he waved her away.

"Medal has breached my lines. We blew the entrance as we ran. It will take them sometime before the can get in. My soldiers will hold them back as long as they can. Let's get Connor home." Martin looked at John and nodded. "I'm sorry for my drunken state and what I said."

"Don't worry about it. If everything goes the way we hope, you will never have to say those things." John nodded back.

"Well, I'm glad you two have kissed and made up." Ellison adjusted John's weight. As he did so, the sounds of battle had begun echoing through the bunker. Derek's lines must have finally crumbled. The enemy was coming quickly. "Let's keep moving. Martin, find someone and post them here. We need as much time as we can get."

"Right. See you down there in a second." The soldier turned and began barking orders at those around him.

Ellison urged the group to move as fast as they could. It was agonizing for John to descend the stairs. Each step caused his foot to bump against the ground and caused shooting pain through his body. Alison tried several times to stop and allow John a rest but both he and Ellison told her there was no time. No matter what they did, it was going to hurt. The best thing he could do was keep moving forward.

Finally reaching the door, Ellison transferred all of John's weight onto Alison and began unlocking the door. Mrs. Weever and John Henry were standing quietly by the Time Displacement Equipment when they entered. The two cyborg were quick to lend a hand to John and help him next to the equipment.

"Ok," John grunted as he tried to make himself comfortable. "Let's fix this mess. Start it up."

"As you wish." Catherine said. She walked over to the machine and began flipping switches and pushing buttons.

"Ellison, once we leave, blow this room. Nothing in here can survive if we hope to keep this future from happening."

"We will John. What about Cameron's body?"

John looked over at his cyborg friend. He felt a great sadness as her lifeless body lay there. "This body belongs with this timeline. When I return, her body will still be there. I came to find her chip. I have done that. When we return, we can activate her and all will be right."

John looked back at Command only to find Alison staring at Cameron. The blood had drained from her face. John swallowed and then gestured from someone to cover Cameron's body. John Henry was quick to respond and pulled a white sheet over her.

"So, the friend you came looking for was a Machine?" Alison looked at John. "A Machine that looked like me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She has saved my life more times then I can count. I had to return the favor. She was built to look like you because Skynet knew you and I were close. She was designed to kill me by impersonating you. Somehow she was discovered and reprogrammed. In a different timeline, I send her back to keep me safe and to help stop Skynet."

The girl was quiet for a moment before she said, "John, would you take me with you?"

Before John could answer, the door flew open and Martin was leaning heavily against the wall. "Get out of here! The Machines have broken though our lines. Ellison, Lauren, Savannah, we need to move now. Set the charges and let's do this."

"You heard the man." Ellison walked over to a cabinet and pulled out several things of C4.

Command divided the C4 among themselves and began moving around the room. Each placed the explosives far enough way that they wouldn't be caught in the equipment's radius but close enough that they would destroy everything. As they did so, Alison moved next to John.

As she knelt down, she said, "I know we haven't spent a lot of time together, but I love you John. Please, let me come with you."

"Alison, the world I am going to will be very foreign to you. The war is still being fought back in 2009 but it is more of a chess game then full on combat. Are you sure that is something that you want?"

She leaned forward and kissed him again. "Yes."

Ellison interrupted them and said, "Mrs. Weever, as soon as we close that door, go. We'll give you one minute after the door locks to be gone. After that, I'll hit the trigger."

"Very well James." Her finger hovered over the final button to activate the equipment.

"Good luck, and Godspeed." Ellison said with a smile. "I'm very glad that we will have hope again. Alison?"

Alison looked at John, her eyes pleading for an answer. Finally John grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. Ellison nodded and moved towards the door. He pulled it shut behind him and Catherine pushed the button. It was time to go home.


	37. Ch 36: Martin Bedell, 2026

Martin moaned slightly as he loaded his sidearm. His left shoulder was in so much pain. As he leaned up against the wall, the stones were painted a deep red. He knew he didn't have much time left.

"Martin?" Lauren said cautiously. "Are you alright?"

"No, I do not believe that I am." He tightened the bandaged he had on his shoulder. "I guess the Machines wanted to kill me."

Lauren smiled slightly as she examined his shoulder. The smile slowly faded. "We need to get you to surgery, now. Martin, you are bleeding out."

Martin just laughed. "I won't have time for surgery. I don't think I'll make it past the next couple of minutes. You know, you are very pretty."

Lauren's face became bright red as she smiled. Martin leaned down and kissed her. He had never told her before that he thought she was pretty. He had always been too scared, but what the hell. He was going to be dead in a few minutes and if Connor succeeded, then nothing in this moment really mattered. This timeline would be erased.

"About time." Ellison said with a chuckle. "I was beginning to think that you kids were never—"

Martin and Lauren looked at Ellison as he slumped to the floor. The detonator slipped from his and and rolled across the floor to Lauren's feet. As she bent down to pick it up, Martin raised his sidearm and began firing upon the T-600s that were making their way down the stairs. A hail of bullets rained around him and Lauren. He heard Lauren cry out and then felt his own chest rip with pain. He felt the impact of one bullet after another. His body was thrown against the wall and he slipped down until he was sitting down. He continued to pull the trigger well after he was out of ammunition. Finally he weakly chucked his firearm at the nearest machine.

He smiled slightly as Lauren's hand grasped his. Martin turned to look at her and then nodded his head. She smiled back and pushed the button on the detonator. The whole area rumbled and shook as the C4 sent off. Martin squeezed her hand as he slumped towards her, his eyes closing and the blackness taking him.

The final thing Martin heard before he died was Lauren's faint voice whispering, "I love you Martin Bedell."


	38. Ch 37: John Connor, Sometime in 2009

Pain ripped through his body. John tried tor cry out but his voice was caught in his throat. As the pain reached it peak, John found himself thrown to the hard, concrete ground. Groaning, he sat up and looked around. Mrs. Weever had been quick to create clothes for herself. John guessed that was one upside to being a liquid-metal terminator. He, John Henry, and Alison were all still very naked. Thankfully it was dark out and it looked like the streetlights were not functioning.

John looked around before he began laughing. The streets were filthy but nothing was destroyed yet. There were no massive army of Machines and humanity was yet destroyed.

"What is so funny?" John Henry asked.

"Oh." John said between fits of laughter. "My leg is bleeding, I'm in great amounts of pain, but I'm home!"

"So this is what it looks like…before the war?" Allison stood up and looked at John. "Sir, we need to get that leg taken care of. The bleeding needs to stop."

"All right. Get me up. Mrs. Weever, we need a place where you can work on my leg. Can you find something?"

"Yes." She tilted her head. "Why do you want me to look at your leg?"

"The last terminator who helped my mother and me—before Cameron—had detailed files on the human anatomy. He was able to patch my mom up. I would only assume you had the same files."

She didn't respond. After a second, she turned and began walking away. John thought about calling out to her, but decided against it. Instead, John dragged himself up against the wall of a nearby building. His leg was still a bleeding mess and felt a trail all the way to the wall. Alison followed him and knelt down next to him. John quickly averted his eyes. He felt his cheeks beginning to burn. Alison was very beautiful.

"This leg is going to need attention soon." She said, her fingers moving over the torn flesh. "It doesn't look like the artery was cut. Just the muscle is torn. A few bones are broken. Why don't we call your family? They can help us."

"I don't know what day or even year this is." John shook his head. "Mrs. Weever neglected to share that information with us. Until we know more, we can't risk. Besides, we don't have a phone."

"If you are looking for a specific date," John Henry said as he looked up into the night sky. "In exactly one week, you, Mrs. Weever, and myself will travel forward in time. I could contact your family if you like."

John shook his head. "No. We need clothes and weapons. If we are a week before we jumped, that means Derek is still alive." He grunted in pain. "If we play our cards right, we can save his life. As soon as our doppelgängers jump into the future, we'll make ourselves known."

"Right. Then I will find us clothing and weapons." John Henry said as he then turned and began moving into the darkness.

"Great." John muttered. "Um, Alison."

"Don't worry, sir. I'm not going anywhere." She placed a hand on John's shoulder. "But we do need to stop this bleeding."


	39. Ch 38: John Connor, 2009 Two Days Later

John sat in the backseat of the car. His wounded leg was resting on the center console. John hadn't questioned where Catherine Weever got the car from when she had pulled up with it. Alison and Catherine has pulled him into the car and drove to a small corner store where some medical supplies were bought and John's leg was patched up as best as it could be. After a while, they returned to the alleyway to pick up John Henry who had managed to locate a pair of clothes for everyone as well as two loaded pistols. After some much needed rest, the four of them has set up a plan to save Derek.

John, his wounds not allowing him to stand or walk, had to rely upon the others to see his uncle safe. John Henry had parked the car a few blocks away and Alison and Catherine had taken off to find Derek and get him out alive.

The Weevers had a huge house. Having been on the move all his life and never living in a house much bigger then what an average family could afford, John couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to live in such a place. To live in a place where he never had to worry about worldly needs.

"What are you thinking about?"

John turned to look at the Cyborg. John Henry's eyes were watching him from the rearview mirror.

"Just thinking about what it must be like to live a normal life."

"Why do you want to live a normal life? From what I've read on the internet, most of your kind wishes for an adventure, for excitement. They would trade place with you."

John thought about this for a moment before answering. "I guess it is the fact that I've never lived a normal life. I've always had to be John Connor. I just wish I could stop running and grow up like a normal person. I mean this with no disrespect, but I wish my life wasn't so full of terminators and death."

"Maybe it won't have to be that way. We can win this war before it starts. My brother is still very weak. We can beat him. We just have to find him."


	40. Ch 39: Derek Reese, 2009

Derek walked slowly around the front room of the Weever home. His eyes kept moving around, looking for any signs of Metal or Grays. So far he had heard and seen nothing. It was almost too quiet on the first floor. He wished that he had been able to go with John and Sarah into the garage. Hell, as much as he distrusted her, Derek even wished that Cameron had come with him. Something just wasn't right.

"What do people do with this much house?" Derek muttered. "Hell, all we needed was tunnel under the city and we had a place for a dozen families to live. What do two women do in this place?"

He had no sooner uttered those words when he heard shots being fired. He hurried towards where the sounds were originating. He was about to turn the corner when he felt a solid object crash into his body. With a grunt, he was grown to the floor. Upon looking up at his attacker, Derek was shocked to see himself.

The original Derek watched as his copy reached down and picked up his gun. The copy looked at it for a second and then started off towards where the shots had been fired, moving in an almost identical fashion as Derek did.

"Who the hell are you?" Derek coughed out as he regained his wind.

"Never mind that." A familiar voice whispered from his side.

"Cameron? What are you—" Derek lost his train of thought as he realized it was not Cameron. The girl had a hint of kindness in her eyes. A look he knew all too well. "Alison? How? You were killed before I was sent back."

"Everything will be explained later. Come with me if you want to live."

Derek looked back at where his copy had vanished. Whatever was going on, John Connor must have been behind it. That was the only way Alison would have been here. Derek knew John would only do something like this if it would help the cause. He pushed himself to his feet and followed Alison as she ran towards the front door.


	41. Ch 40: John Connor, 2009

"Here they come." John Henry announced as he started the car.

John quickly looked out the window to see Alison leading Derek to the car. Alison jumped into the passenger's seat. Derek opened the backdoor and stopped. He just looked at John in utter confusion.

"John, what are you doing here? What happened to you leg?"

"Not now." John said quickly. "Let's go." Derek jumped into the seat and the door closed behind him. "John Henry, let's get to the safe house."

"John!" Derek was reaching towards a pistol John had left on the seat next to him.

"Derek, it is not Cromartie." John said quickly as he pulled the Glock away from his uncle's reach.

"He is on our side." Alison said as she turned around in her seat.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Derek said as he pressed himself against the seat. He still seemed confused and unsure.

John ignored his uncle and turned to John Henry. "How quickly before we are there?"

"I'm in the traffic lights now. We should have a clear path all the way there. My brother does not yet have control over those or the cameras of the city. We should not draw Skynet's attention as we drive."

"Good. Get us there quickly."

Derek had demanded answers the whole way to the safe house. John had remained silent the whole drive. Alison had tried to answer his questions as best as she could but she didn't have all the answers Derek wanted. Once they were safe inside, and John had been carried to a chair where he could relax his wounded leg, Derek was told the whole story.

"Well, that explains the leg, this Medal I thought we had destroyed, and the copy of me I saw. So what do we do now, John?" Derek asked as he leaned forward on the couch.

"Fight. Once my mother has put together her new team, we will rejoin them. That should give me a little time to heal up. That is when we will attack Skynet. Derek, you and John Henry will be in charge of intelligence. Derek, stake out the warehouse, don't be seen. John Henry, see to some satellites. If we can scope out their actives at all times of the day, we will have a better shot at winning."

"I will move the satellite now. I should have visual access within twenty-four hours." John Henry said as he stared off at the wall.

"Sir, what about me?" Alison asked.

John looked at her. "You will become my hand and legs for now. I don't know when Catherine Weever will be back, but until then, I need you here."

"Yes, sir." A slight smile graced her lips. She looked at the floor and then back up at John.

John returned her smile and then leaned back into his chair. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he attempted to make himself comfortable and in the less amount of pain as possible.

"Derek." John opened his eyes and looked at his uncle. "I am glad you are alive. When we came up those stairs and saw you dead, I nearly broke. I've missed you."

For John, the next week was very slow. His movements were limited and very painful. Unless he needed to go to the bathroom, John didn't move from the chair. Derek and John Henry spent very little time at the safe house as they spent their time watching the warehouse. They would leave early in the morning and return late at night. That mostly left Alison to take care of him. While she was quick to help when John needed her, Alison struggled to get John where he needed to go. It was easier for her to bring things to him.

For Alison, adjusting was difficult. She was always looking over her shoulder. She would carry a weapon on her person at all times. When there was nothing to do, she and John would clean and reload the weapons that Derek had brought home from his weapon locker. In the evening, Alison would made small meals for herself and John. At night, she would scream out with the nightmares of the war that had consumed so much of her life. However, this didn't wake anyone up as both John and Derek were consumed with their own nightmares.

After a few days of this routine, Catherine Weever showed back up. She pushed open the front door and walked in without much thought. John, upon hearing the front door open, pulled out his Glock and almost put a round into her before he realize who it was and turned the safety back on. Catherine just raised an eyebrow.

"Where are the others?" She asked as she moved toward the couch and sat down.

"Derek and John Henry are scouting the warehouse. I've asked Derek to plan out a way to blow that place to hell. John Henry is hacking into the official records to find us a blueprint of the building and the areas around it. Alison is in the other room. She needed some sleep. She has been out for a few hours now."

"I guess it will be good to have a plan in place. It should no' be long before your mother gathers the rest of her little band. She and Mr. Ellison have gone in opposite directions in hopes of finding Martin Bedell and Lauren Fields. How is your leg?"

"It hurts."

"Let me have a look at it."

John nodded his head and Catherine moved beside his propped up leg. She began unwrapping his bandages and examining the stitchings. She gently examined the healing flesh under his knee and then moved down his shin and finally his foot. She looked at if for a moment before reaching out an gently probing it. John took a sharp breath.

"It is healing well." Catherine said. There are no signs of infection and I think there will be minimal scarring. The bones also seem to be healing well in your foot. As long as you are careful and stay off of it for the time being, you will make a full recovery. You are very lucky."

"How long do you think I will need to stay off of it?" John asked.

"Maybe another five to ten weeks."

"Great." John said with a sigh. "So where have you been for the last week?"

Weever began bandaging John's leg back up as she said, "I went back to my company. Kaliba operators seem to have taken over my building. I simply took back my property. We will need to recreate the computers in the basement so John Henry can stay activated once your Cameron gets her chip back. Sarah has much of my equipment. We will need it all before we make the attack on Skynet. My son can battle Skynet virtually. That will distract him long enough for us to infiltrate and terminate the AI."

"Not a bad plan." John slowly rubbed his wounded leg. "Once we have confirmation that Lauren and Martin are with my mother, we will make ourselves known. That will probably give us another week. Once we meet up, we will take a month or two to plan everything and that should give me the time needed to heal up."

"Very well."


	42. Ch 41: John Connor, 2009

His mother's safe house was dark. It had been easy to disarm the alarm. She always seemed to use the same code. Once inside, John was carried over to a recliner chair that sat in the front room. Once settled into the chair, John smiled as he looked around. It was very much like every other safe house his mother had ever chosen. It felt almost like home.

Derek and Alison quickly explored the house soon after John had been deposited into the chair. Derek came back only long enough to complain that it looked like Sarah had taken some of his stuff out of his weapons locker and to tell John that they had found the bedrooms at the end of hall and the were going to try and catch some sleep. John had to admit that sleep sounded amazing right then. Catherine and John Henry volunteered to keep a watch. It wasn't long before every human in the house was asleep, waiting for Sarah Connor to return.

As John slept, he could see the Machines advancing in his sleep. All around him, the world burned and men screamed and died. He felt his body pump with adrenaline and shake in fear. The air was thick with smoke and stank of vomit and blood. No matter where he turned, there was destruction all around him. He tried to find his uncle or his mother. They were nowhere to be found. He tried to find Cameron, but she wasn't there either. Finally he tried to find Alison, but as he looked, John found himself alone against the Machines. One of the T-600s stopped and looked at him. It turned its body and raised its rifle. John watched helplessly as it pulled the trigger.

John awoke with a cry. He drew his Glock and wildly began swinging it around the room. He heard an awful screaming only to realize that it was he who was screaming. He tried to regain control of himself but he couldn't. His whole body began to tremor. And then there was a gunshot. John looked down at the Glock in his hand. Smoke was rising from the barrel. In his panic, he had taken a potshot at the couch.

"John?"

Alison's voice startled John and he turned as best as he could in the chair to look at her. She was wearing a large shirt that came down to her thighs. Her hair was a slightly tangled and unkempt from sleeping on it weird. She stood in the hallway with her hands slightly raised. In her right hand was her own Glock.

"It is just me. Put the gun down, John."

John watched her for a second before he nodded his head. Slowly, he lowered the pistol and dropped it onto the floor. Before he knew what was happening, John broke into tears.

"It is alright now." Alison crossed the room and knelt in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him and John rested his head on her shoulder as he shook violently. "You are awake now. The dream is over."

"I wish that it was." John said, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"Skynet?"

John just nodded.

"Is he alright?" Derek asked as he entered the room. He was switching the safety back on his own Glock before picking up John's.

"He just needs a moment." Alison responded. "I thought coming here, we would leave those Machines behind. I thought we could forget about the horrors and start fresh. I thought we could escape them."

"None of us ever do." Derek grunted slightly as he slipped onto the couch. "Sarah Connor, John Connor, Derek Reese, Alison Young. We have all seen too much. We can't escape because there is nowhere to run anymore. We can never be free from it. That is why we fight. We fight so that others never have to experience what we did. We fight so that others can be free."

Alison took a deep breath. "Maybe, someday, we can earn our freedom from it too. I never had a problem with the dreams while I was fighting the Machines. I guess I was just always in a living nightmare. Ever since coming here—to this world—I can't stop seeing them. The horrors I left behind have followed me here. I wish they would go away. I would love to get some real sleep."

Derek laughed. "Some real sleep would be nice. I don't think that is something I will ever experience. I'm too old, and too broken. I've seen too much."

"Oh, I'm sure there is hope for you." Alison said with a smile.

"You know what I didn't miss about you." Derek said, pointing a finger at her. "I hated when you tried to tell me there was hope when everything pointed in the opposite direction. You usually turned out to be right."

"You just need some faith."

John, by this point, had calmed down. He was no longer crying and his body has quit shaking. He lay back in the recliner and took deep breaths before smiling weakly at Alison and Derek. Moments later, Catherine and John Henry both walked into the room. They looked around the room before Catherine spoke.

"They are here."


	43. Ch 42: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah closed her eyes as she killed the engine in the SUV. She was exhausted. Over the past twelve hours she and her band of misfits had taken a road trip up to Northern California. She and Martin had gone to take a look around Danny Dyson's dorm room while Ellison had taken Savannah, Lauren, and the baby shopping. Sarah had forgotten just how much stuff a young child could need.

"Sarah?" Ellison said from the passenger seat. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She lied. "Just tired is all."

From behind, Lauren's sister Sydney began crying. Sarah groaned and lightly pressed her forehead against the steering wheel. She just felt defeated today.

"Please," Sarah said without thinking. get that child to stop screaming."

"She is hungry. When we get inside, I'll get her something to eat." Lauren said as she pulled her sister out of the car.

Sarah nodded her head and then stepped out of the SUV. Slowly, she moved towards the door. Sarah was ready for a night in her own bed. If she could just get a few hours of sleep, they could start again in the morning. She moved towards the back door and then stopped. The door was ajar slightly. Pulling her Glock out of her holster, Sarah turned and held a finger up to her lips.

"Quiet!" She hissed. "Someone has broken in."

Ellison and Martin both drew their weapons and quickly moved to Sarah's side. Lauren quickly moved the two children back into the SUV as she drew her own sidearm. Sarah nodded to Martin and he pushed the door open. He quickly checked the corners and then stepped into the house. Sarah quickly followed and Ellison came in behind her.

Sarah pointed at Marin and then pointed towards the front room. Martin nodded and moved slowly towards the dividing wall. Once in position, he signaled Sarah to move up. Sarah moved up and then entered the front room.

There was someone sitting on the chair. Sarah raised her Glock. The dark figure sitting in the recliner sat up slightly. The lights in the room turned on and Sarah was shocked to see who was in the room.

"John?"

Sarah lowered her weapon. John was sitting on the recliner with his leg wrapped in bandages and propped up. Standing besides him was Catherine Weever and John Henry. Sitting on the couch was Derek and a young girl who looked just like Cameron.

"Hi Mom."

It had taken Sarah several minutes to compose herself. She had half collapsed on the couch as Martin left to let Lauren know that it was ok. Ellison had moved back into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a fresh pot of coffee. Lauren was nervous as she entered the room, but little Savannah rushed over to the two terminators.

"Mommy!" She cried out as she threw her arms around Catherine's body.

"Savannah." Catherine crouched down and picked the girl up. "Were you a good girl for Sarah while I was gone?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"Good." Catherine looked around the room before saying "I am going to take Savannah to bed. It is well past her bedtime. Ms. Fields, would like us to take your sister? John Henry and I will see her safely to bed."

"You're metal." Lauren sneered. "Get away from—"

"Lauren, you don't need to fear them." Ellison said as he sipped his coffee. "I worked for Mrs. Weever and I personally tutored John Henry. They are not the same Machines that tried to kill us."

"Just stay away from me and my sister." Lauren said as she picked up Sydney. "Sydney and I will be in our rooms. I just need some time to figure this out."

Once Lauren and Sydney left, Catherine carried Savannah off towards her bedroom. John Henry followed. As soon as they were gone, John began explaining his story to those left. Sarah remained silent throughout the tale. Her eyes glanced from her son to Derek, to the young girl that John introduced as Alison Young. As John got deeper into his story, a sadness filled Sarah. She felt like she had failed her son all over again. She had spent so much time fighting against the future so her son wouldn't have to fight the Machines. She had spent so much time in pain so that John wouldn't have to feel the pain. Now he had faced his future and seen what haunted her dreams. As he described his time in TechCom, Sarah also had a feeling of great pride. She always knew that John would become a great leader and would live up to the legend of John Connor. She was proud that he and done so.

John paused before continuing. "Mom, Mr. Ellison. We have an idea of how to stop Skynet. I know where it is. We can win this war."

Sarah looked around the room and took a deep breath. "Not on that leg your not." She stood up and walked towards her son and smiled. "John, let's hear this plan. What do you need us to do?"


	44. Ch 43: Derek Reese, 2009 One Week Later

Derek blinked and ran his hand across his eyes. Pulling the binoculars back up to his eyes, Derek continued watching the compound where the warehouse sat. He could see three guards walking around in different parts of the area. They were slow and mechanical in their movements.

"Three metals." Derek said softly. "They are just patrolling."

"Right." Alison said as she took note of it in a notebook.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"You have been distant all day. You volunteered to come with me on this patrol instead of spending time with John—John Connor, the man who's side you have refused to leave since coming to this time. You haven't spoken all day save to acknowledge that you hear what I am staying to you. Hell, your moody. Something is wrong."

"Just deep in thought."

"Well? Spill it, damnit."

Alison didn't say anything. Derek finally sighed and lowered the binoculars. He looked at her and just waited.

"John is going to reactivate Cameron today. I get that we need her, but…how does John feel about her?"

"How does John…" Derek couldn't stop himself from laughing. "You're jealous of Metal?"

"What?"

"You are jealous of Cameron. Come on, Young. You've spent a good deal of time alone with John. You've cooked his meals, cursed him back to health, and helped him with just about anything he needed. Hell, I wouldn't have done half of that for him and I'm his uncle. You have a crush on John and now you fear Cameron is competition." Derek shook his head and went back to watching the warehouse. "I wouldn't worry too much. John and Cameron have always had a…close bond. I don't know what is going on in John's brain when it comes to Tin Miss. Sometime I do think he has a crush on her, but other times he treats her like a Machine. What time is it?"

"Almost four."

"Good, then it is time to meet up with the others. Pack up our stuff. I'll pull the truck around." Derek crawled back until he knew he was behind enough cover that the terminators wouldn't be able to see him. "And Alison, don't worry about Cameron. If you like John, fight for him. He and Cameron will always be close. In the future I'm from, she is his right hand. He sent her back. Why?" Derek shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know why. Just don't try to get between their friendship."


	45. Ch 44: John Connor, 2009

John Henry and Catherine had spent the better part of the day putting the basement computers back together. John had helped the best he could but he wasn't very useful on he crutches. After a while, John moved into an adjacent room where Cameron's body was resting until they could get her chip back. The flesh on the body was healing very well from the wounds Cameron gained from breaking Sarah out of prison.

"John?" His mother knocked on the door.

Turning slightly, John unlocked the door and opened it. His mother slipped in and then closed the door.

"John, how are you doing?

"Alright. Leg still hurts some. Probably will for the rest of my life. You?"

"I'll be fine. Still not comfortable working with so many Machines. I had just gotten use to Cameron. Hell, I kinda miss her. She was dependable."

John smiled. "At least Lauren has come around to accepting the idea of working with Mrs. Weever and John Henry."

"True." Sarah said smiling. "We should be ready in just a little bit for Cameron to get her chip back. We are mostly just waiting on Derek and Alison. John Henry will be reconnected to his computers and that should give him greater control over the systems. We will continue to make preparations and in about a month, we will be ready for the final battle."

"Yeah. It will be simple. John Henry will attack Skynet virtually, we will take enough C4 with us to level the whole compound several times over, and the war will be over. We will be free."

"I hope so John."

He turned and looked at his mother. She had a bit of a distant look in her eyes. John reached forward and pulled his mother into a hug. "You know, when I was in the future, Ellison told me that they had grown into a family. These people, Mother, are our family now. Live or die, we will do this as a family."

Another knock came from the door. It opened and Lauren stuck her head in. "Derek's truck just rolled up. We are all here. Mrs. Weever said she will come bet Cameron in just a few minutes.

"Good." Sarah said.

"We'll be out in just a second."

John watched as Cameron's body was laid on the table. Alison was standing next to John and Derek next to her. The others were hooking John Henry back up to his computers. Once they were sure the system would not crash, Sarah pulled the chip from his head. John Henry's body spasmed slightly and then he smiled slightly for the first time since John had met him.

"Its seems my system is functioning perfectly. I still have full control over the satellite and I'm uploading myself back into the city network. When we are ready for the attack, I should have control over just about everything."

"Good." Catherine turned to look at John. "Then let's activate your cyborg."

Sarah held the chip out to John. He took it and looked at it. Closing his hand around it, he looked at his uncle and nodded his head. Derek placed his hands under John' arms and held him up as John began working on Cameron. John lifted the tab of flesh and inserted the chip into Cameron. As soon as it was securely in place, John nodded to his uncle who returned John to his chair. John held his breath as he counted down the hundred and twenty second that it took to reboot.

Cameron's eyes suddenly snapped to life. There was a strange blue glow to them before returning to their normal brown color. Slowly, she sat up and began examining everyone in the room. Finally, she looked at John and tilted her head.

"John? You are hurt." She said in her monotone voice.

"Yes. It happened while I was in the future. Mrs. Weever says that it is healing nicely. In about a month, I will be able to place weight on it again."

"She is correct." Cameron turned to look at Catherine. "Thank you for helping John."

"Of course. He, after all, my ally and friend." Mrs. Weever responded.

"How much do you remember?" John asked.

Cameron swung her head around and looked at John. She didn't answer for quite some time. "All of it. I was still inside my chip, John. I heard your plan, I saw your wounds, I was there for it all." Her eyes fell slowly on Alison. "You shouldn't be here. You look like me. That means you are Alison from Palmdale. I killed you before I was captured by John."

The blood drained from Alison's face. John could see how freaked out she was. Slowly, John pushed himself out of the chair and hobbled so he was between Cameron and Alison. "Cameron, that is enough."

"You were present in the chip with John Henry. Miss Young should no' be a surprise to you." Catherine said in puzzlement.

"Surprised? No, I'm not surprised." Cameron slid off the table. "She shouldn't be here."

"Good to know you are the same Tin Miss we all know and love." Sarah said.

John nodded. "It is good to have you back. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Cameron stepped to John's left and placed a hand on his arm. "You need to sit down. Get off that leg."

John looked down at his leg and then back up at Cameron. Slowly he nodded and sat down. "Ok. Derek, show us what you've got for us."

"Yes." Derek walked up to the table and rolled out a set of blueprints. From the original design, the warehouse was not meant to have an underground facility. I'm guessing that the facility was built after Kaliba took over from Cyberdyne. John Henry, would you please pull up the digital modal?" A few seconds later, a monitor flipped on and a 3D model of the warehouse and the maze of tunnels underneath. "From the weeks that we have been scoping this place out—and the knowledge I have on Skynet's bunkers in the future—we have figured a few things out. First off, there are three terminations at all times guarding the place. Honestly, based upon some of the bunkers I've stormed before, this seems like a very small number. Our best theory at this point in time is that Skynet just doesn't have the numbers yet. This is good for us. The bad part is that these three are our first obstacle to victory. If either of these tin cans report back to their master, we could be finished before we start."

"So how are we going to do that?" Ellison asked.

John Henry spoke up. "I should be able to help out there. I will disrupt the communications between these terminators and my brother. As long as we time the attacks, their terminations should go unnoticed by my brother."

"Now comes the hard part." Derek pointed back to the 3D model. "Most of this is constructed off of my personal knowledge. Skynet is an AI, a computer program. Almost everything it builds uses the same blueprints. Assuming that I am right, that would put Skynet's central core…here." Derek pointed to a large, central room.

"Because of the lack of technological advances, I had to use dozens of computers and processors to create John Henry." Catherine said. "It is possible that the terminators sent back have built the system needed to house Skynet's CPU, but more than likely—until he evolves more—his system will look very similar to John Henry's."

"Right," Derek said. "Thus why this room makes the most sense. Our mission is going to be to blow the whole damned place to hell. My recommendation is that we split up into four groups. Group A will focus on the foundational supports." Derek pointed to several points. "Group B will focus on the internal supports." Derek pointed to a dozen different points. "Group C will hit the power supplies as well as anything that we find that might explode." Derek pointed to a section of the model. "And then Group D. Group D is Skynet itself. We take our C4, spit it up between the four groups and set up the charges and blow Skynet to hell."

"Remember," John said. "Destroying Skynet is our primary objective on this mission. A very close second is to find Danny Dyson and bring him out alive. We are going to have a month to prepare for this. I want everyone to study the maps, learn the objective locations. Any questions?"


	46. Ch 45: Sarah Connor, 2009 A Month Later

Sarah and Martin snuck slowly up behind the terminator standing guard near the front gate. Once they were close enough, they stopped and waited. Martin looked down at his watch and began nodding his head with the tick of the second hand. After a minute, Sarah stood up and rolled a grenade under the Machine's feet. It looked down, but not in time to avoid the blast.

As the dust cleared, Sarah stood up and moved towards the now legless terminator. She kicked the rifle that it has been caring out of reach and then lowered the barrel of her shotgun on the side of its head and pulled the trigger. The blast tore through the flesh and blew the bottom jaw clean off.

Sarah knelt down on its back and Martin dropped down on its neck and drew out a knife. Martin began slicing through the flesh on the back of the skull. Once he located the port, Martin drove his knife through the port and the chip.

"Good job." Sarah said as she took a second to catch her breath. "Let's move this one back into the bushes. We don't want anyone finding this thing."

Martin nodded his head and stood up. He and Sarah each took an arm and began dragging the body towards a set of thick bushes near the gate. Throwing some dirt and branches over the body, the two soldiers returned to the gate and cut the lock on the moved towards the warehouse.

"Command." Martin said as he held the button on his mic. "This is Team Alpha. Guard one is down. We are moving into position.

"Copy that." Lauren's voice sounded over the headset.


	47. Ch 46: Catherine Weever, 2009

Catherine watched the terminator as it walked past her position. The T-1001 had pressed herself up against a will and has used her liquid metal abilities to become one with the wall. She had been part of the wall for almost a day now and she was simply waiting for the appointed time when her son would disrupt this Machine's communications.

When the appointed hour had come, Catherine pushed against the while until her form began taking shape again. As the liquid metal took on the basic shape of a human, she was only a gray colored blob. As the form began to take on more detail, her color returned. The gray hair became red, her gray skin became white. Normally she would take on her white dress but today was not a business day. Today was a day of war. She morphed the liquid metal into a dark green set of trousers and a black tank top. A pair of thick black combat boots covered her feet.

The T-888 turned around and seemed confused. Catherine only smiled. She raised her hand and pointed at the head of the terminator. In a matter of seconds, her finger had turned back to the shiny metal gray and shot forward. The point of her finger sliced though the flesh and metal skull of her fellow terminator. The triple-eight spasmed out and then slumped to the ground.

"Too slow." Catherine said in satisfaction.

At a much slower pace then before, her finger returned to normal. As her finger left the triple-eight's skull, it slumped to the ground and then quit moving. Catherine picked up the metal man and moved his body into the bushes and shadows where it would avoid being noticed until she could retrieve it later.

Catherine pulled out the radio, earpiece, and mic that the others had given her. She slipped the earpiece into her ear and then attached the mic around her throat. Pushing the button on the mic, she said, "This is Bravo. The terminator is down. I'm moving into position."


	48. Ch 47: John Connor, 2009

John reached down and rubbed his left leg. The bones had healed and the flesh had healed nicely, but the pain was still present. It was quite minor compared to when the wound was fresh but the pain was still there. Having improved the level of pain with the quick massage, John lifted his rifle and waited.

The T-888 was standing near the warehouse. It hadn't moved since John and Alison had moved into position almost an hour ago. It simple kept watch. The plan that John, Alison and Cameron had decided upon was a simple one. As soon as the appointed time came, John and Alison would fire down at the terminator and distract it long enough for Cameron to flank it and take it by surprise.

In the month that had passed since reactivating Cameron, the little cyborg had done a great deal of healing. Almost all of the flesh had grown back and she had spent many hours—with the help of Catherine and John Henry—repairing her exoskeleton. She wasn't at a hundred percent but she was doing much better. She still had the tremor in her left hand.

"Are you alright, John?" Alison asked.

"Yeah." John looked at her and smiled.

"Are you in pain?"

"I'm fine."

"That isn't what I asked." Alison said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sir…John…There is something that I want to ask you."

John looked at her.

"John, what is Cameron to you? "

"She is my friend." John said. "She is my protector. She is my confidant."

"Is she more?"

"Why do you ask this?" John looked away from her and looked towards the T-888. "Are you asking me about how I feel towards her? If she and I are lovers?"

"Yes."

"I don't know what I feel, Alison." John gave a deep sigh. "There is a lot that I don't know. Alison, I care deeply for you, but I also care deeply for Cameron. If we survive this war, I will have much to figure out. We don't have time, today for me to sort everything out."

"John, I—"

"Cameron is in position." John said, interrupting Alison. "And it is time. Are you ready?"

Alison nodded and picked up her rifle. The two of them took aim and fired. Burst after burst of bullets rained down on the triple-eight. The barrage was having the desired effect. The terminator had turned on them and failed to notice Cameron walking up behind it. John watched as her hands grabbed either side of the Machine's head and crushed it. As the gunfire ceased, the headless terminator dropped to the ground.

John and Alison quickly picked up their equipment and made it down to Cameron. John had to take it slower then Alison just do to the limp he had. By the time John had made it down to them, Cameron had already hidden the body and the crushed head.

"John." Cameron said. "You are hurt."

"No. I'm still recovering from before."

Alison gave John a hand as he slipped towards the ground. He wanted to just sit for a second. Cameron knelt down next to him and examined his foot and leg as best as she could.

"Nothing seem out of place." Cameron said.

John shook his head. "Just in pain. It will be alright. Give me a second and I'll be good as new. Alison, call Command for me."

"Command," Alison said as she pushed the button for her mic. "This is Charlie Team. The terminator is down, repeat, the terminator is down. We are ready to breach upon your mark."

"Roger that." Lauren's voice said. "John Henry is beginning his attack on Skynet. All teams we are T minus five minutes from breach."

Cameron's foot knocked the door clean off its hinges. As John entered the building, he quickly swept the room with his weapon. The flashlight mounted on the rifle illuminated the empty corners of the warehouse. Cameron moved by John before he had complete his sweep. John looked up at Alison who was standing above him to make her own sweep. She shrugged.

"Cameron?" John said as he stood up and moved into the room.

"There was no one in here." She looked over her should at John as she grasped the back of the old chair and pulled it straight up, bringing a section of the floor with it.

"Yeah." John said as he looked down the hole that was uncovered. "Looks like it is time."

"Yes." Cameron said. "I'll go first."

John watched as Cameron started down the ladder. He licked his lips as he pushed the button on his mic. "This is Connor. All teams, be advised, friendlies are now entering the compound."

Each of the team leaders acknowledged John words.

"It is still eerie." Alison said. "I mean her looking like me."

"You'll get use to her." John glanced over at her. She was still scanning the room to make sure it was clear of enemies. "Hell, I'm just starting to get use to the idea of you."

"Oh?" Alison said with a slight smile. "So now I'm the creepy one?

John smiled. "It is just hard to imagine that I would every meet the woman that Cameron was designed from. She would never talk about you. I think she is ashamed of killing you. Fearful of what I would do to her because of it."

"I must have been important."

"Yes, you must have. I don't know for sure. Maybe Derek knows something. I don't think we are going to get anything out of Cameron." John shook his head slightly. "Ever since the explosion, she has been different. More capable of making decisions on her own, outside of her programming."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It can be."

To what extent he wasn't sure, but John knew Cameron was evolving. Her behavior was moving beyond what Future John had programed. He knew that her chip had been wiped clean multiple times of memories and programs that were not necessary for her mission at the time. Yet, she was able to remember more and more from her past. Her episode as Alison was simply one example. Whatever the explosion had done to her chip, it had allowed her to access memories and files that should be been blocked or wiped.

Taking another look at Alison, John swung his rifle on his shoulder and then began the descent into Skynet's lair. It became quite dark quickly. He guessed that he was only around half way down when his leg began hurting again. He took a deep breath and moaned slightly. Above him, John could hear Alison descending the ladder. He couldn't stop here to give his let a rest. He had to reach the bottom.

As soon as his feet touched the bottom, John felt his leg give way under his weight. He stumbled and tripped until his was able to reach out and catch himself on the concrete wall. John slid down the wall and stretched his leg out in front of him.

"You are in pain."

John jumped slightly and turned his rifle towards the voice. The light rested upon Cameron. Stood there looking at him, her face was blank of all emotion. Finally she moved to kneel next to him.

"You are hurt."

"I'm fine." John lied.

"Your leg is bring you pain. You shouldn't continue on."

"I'm fine." John gritted his teeth as he forced himself to his feet. Leaning against the wall, John looked at her. "I'm fine. I'm going to continue with the mission, and you are not going to mention this again or mention my pain to anyone else. Ok?"

"We really should tell—"

"Cameron, Please!" John said with a hiss. "I am asking you as a friend. Please. Just let me see this through. Don't tell anyone, please."

She stood there without saying a word. John wasn't sure what she was going to do. A noise from above cause both John and Cameron to look up. Alison had reached the bottom of the ladder and was looking at both of them.

"What's going on?" She asked as she turned the light on her rifle back on.

"Nothing." Cameron said. "The tunnel goes that way. We need to move."

John nodded his head and pushed off the wall. Limping forward, he moved passed both women and took the lead. He had to see this through. He couldn't let Cameron or Alison see his hesitation or his weakness. John knew well enough that both of them would not hesitate to pull him out of this facility.


	49. Ch 48: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah looked down at the map she had drawn. It was a poor sight when it was compared with the 3D model that Derek and John Henry had created, but it would accomplish its purpose today. According to Derek's recon—and John's information from the future—there should be a back entrance into the facility right about here.

"Here." Martin said.

Sarah looked up from her map. Martin was kneeling over a steel door that had been covered with dirt and vegetation. Folding the map up, Sarah moved to his side. There was no lock that she could see on the door.

"Good." Sarah touched the door. "Let's get it open."

Martin reached down and pulled on the handle. The young soldier grunted with effort but eventually the door lifted and a ladder descending deep into the earth was revealed. Sarah pulled out a glow stick and snapped it. Once it had a solid glow to it, she dropped it down the hole. Sarah guessed that it fell for about thirty feet before it hit the bottom.

"I'll go first." Martin said as he shoulder his rifle.

Sarah watched as Martin descended. He moved quickly down the ladder and was even quicker to use his rifle to clear the area. He looked back up the hole and waved her down. Sarah nodded and then started down. Upon reaching the floor, she pulled her shotgun off her back and turned on the flashlight mounted upon it.

As Sarah examined the room she found that it looked almost like a dinning hall. There rows upon rows of tables and chairs. In the back of the room was a kitchen and shoved into the corner was a salad bar. There was only one exit from the room. An open doorway that led into even more darkness.

"Into the darkness?" Martin asked.

"What do you suppose we will find in there?"

"My guess." Martin pulled out a grenade. "Metal."

"I'll guess Grays then."

Martin smiled. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the doorway. Sarah grabbed a table and threw it over to provide shelter from the blast. Both she and Martin dove behind the table and covered their ears. The whole room shook and a bright light lit the room for but a moment. Once the echoes died down, Sarah stood up and advanced on the door. Behind her, Martin moved to cover her.

"Looks like I won." Sarah said as she pointed towards three bodies lying on the ground. Pools of blood surrounded them to prove that they were human.

"Good job." Martin said as he checked the bodies. "We got them all."

"We also announced our presence here." Sarah said as she scanned the hallway before her. "We need to move. According to Derek's intel, we should find the stairs leading down. Our first target for the C4."

"Where are the sleeping quarters?" Martin asked.

"Not sure." Sarah said as she looked at her map. "There are a few rooms that are big enough to house a company."

"Any of them near us?"

"A couple."

"Great." Martin knelt next to her. "We are going to have to take it slow. We don't want to run into a trap."


	50. Ch 49: John Connor, 2009

"Look here." Cameron was pointing towards the ground.

Slowly, John knelt on the ground. Using his index finger, he traced the outline of a boot track. Despite the floor being built out concrete, there was a thin layer of sand and dust everywhere. John followed the tracks with his flashlight.

"Someone was here, not that long ago." John said as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Multiple people." Alison said as her own light fell on a few more prints.

"It's a chess match." John said as he moved next to Alison.

"Huh?"

"That is why we are not meeting any resistance right now." John said. "Think of it as a giant chess game. When the games opens, both sides maneuver their pieces in an attempt to gain an advantage over their opponent. Skynet knows we are here. It is moving its followers around to gain an advantage over us."

"Then they are ready for us." Cameron said.

John nodded his head.

"Sir, you should probably stay behind us." Alison said as she stepped forward. "If this is an ambush, we need to make sure that you can get out if everything goes south."

John shook his head and stepped up next to her. "Hell's no. Cameron, take point. Alison, watch out six. We can't wait for them to come to us. We have to go to them."

Cameron nodded her head—her left hand twitching. She raised the shotgun she was holding and started into the dark. John glanced back at Alison and gave her a small smile before he followed after Cameron. The hallway was on a decline that ran deeper into the ground. Every dozen yards or so it turned and went deeper.

The hallway soon began to grow wider and ahead it opened into a small room that was filled with desks and bookshelves. John tapped Cameron's shoulder and signaled for her to stop in the room. John walked up to one of the desks and pulled open one of the drawers. It was empty.

"Looks like there is nothing here." Alison reported from another desk.

"They must have cleared this place out." John said as he dumped a few pieces of paper out of the wastebasket. "Looks like they took anything that we might be able to use."

"The footprints end here." Cameron said. "They—"

The wall behind Cameron exploded out. John ducked behind the desk to avoid the chunks of concrete that flew through the air. As the dust began setting, John coughed as he looked up over the desk. Cameron was laying on the ground under several large pieces of concrete. As she pushed the slabs off of her, a massive man walked across the room and picked her up by the front of her shirt. The man's eyes glowed red for a moment before returning to a dull blue color. the man turned and threw Cameron through the hole in the wall and then started after her.

"Cameron!" John tried to jump up and follow but his left leg gave out under him and he fell to the ground.

"John." Alison had moved to his side. "Are you ok?"

"We need to go after Cameron." John said as he pushed himself off the ground. This time his leg supported the weight. "Don't worry about me. Just—"

A burst of bullets tore into the desk next to John. Coming up behind them was at least three men in military garb. Each was caring automatic rifles, each were firing into the room. Before John could attempt to return fire, Alison had shoved him back behind a desk. It seemed that the maneuvering of chess pieces was over.

"Alison!" John shouted.

"I'm alive." She shouted back. "They are shooting at us, sir."

"Well, shoot back." John said as he pushed himself to his knees and rested the rifle on the desk as he pulled the trigger.

"We are sitting ducks here, sir." Alison screamed as she dropped an empty chip and replaced it with another.

"Yeah." John looked over his shoulder at the hole in the wall. "We can stay here and fight it out, or we go through the wall after Cameron."

One of the Kaliba soldiers dropped to the ground from one of Alison's bullets. "Personally sir, I would say let's go through the wall."

"Ok," John said. "I'll cover you. Get to the other side and then cover me. Ready? Go!"

John switched his weapon to fully automatic and began laying down as heavy of suppressing fire as he was capable of. Dropping an empty clip, John shoved another one in and dropped another soldier. Once Alison was through she called out to John. He took a deep breath and took off at a run for the hole. He dove through just as Alison tossed a grenade.

"You hurt?" John screamed over the explosion.

"No, sir."

"Good. Let's go this way. We can't stay here."

Alison nodded. Together, they both took off at a run. John grunted with every step that he took. His leg was really hurting now. It wasn't long before Alison was several feet ahead of him. Behind them, John could hear the sound of feet running in the darkness. It wouldn't be long before they would be able to over take them.

"John!" Alison had slowed down. "I think I see a light a head of us."

"And I hear an army behind us."


	51. Ch 50: Sarah Connor, 2009

Sarah moved slowly through a maze of desks and cubicles. This was the first room that Sarah and Martin had found that was light. The lighting was dim but it was enough that someone could read and work without much problems. Many of the computer were still one and the coffee in the corner was still warm. Near the very center of the room was a pile of papers that had been shredded and dumped. Someone had been here recently and they had cleared out in a hurry.

This room felt like a prison to Sarah. There were cameras hanging in every corner and several on the ceiling above the computer stations. There were three doors, two of them were leading into and out of the room. Both of those doors were locked from the outside. The third door looked like it was to a bathroom. It reminded Sarah of the Kaliba community.

"Martin, have you found anything?"

"No. There is no point in going through the shredded papers, the computers are all password protected. I'm sure whomever is on the other end of these cameras are laughing their asses off right now." Martin walked up besides her. "I say we set some C4 here and we get the hell out of here. We are exposed here and this place doesn't feel right."

"Right."

Sarah pulled some C4 out of her bag and tossed it to Martin. He caught the plastic and took it over to the largest collection of computer equipment. Sarah kept her eyes on the doors as Martin worked. He was just about finished when Sarah heard something. It almost sounded like someone was whistling.

"Martin." Sarah whispered. "Do you hear that?"

Martin slowly stood up and raised his rifle. "No. What do you hear?"

"It sounds like…" Sarah faded off as she turned to look at the bathroom door. "It sounds like whistling."

The two of them approached the door with cation. Sarah took ahold of the doorknob and gave it a slight turn. It wasn't locked. She looked to Martin and nodded her head. Martin aimed his rifle and returned the nod. Sarah, holding her breath slightly, turned the knob the rest of the way and threw the door open. Martin quickly entered and Sarah followed him.

It was a tiny bathroom with only one ceil and a sink. It looked like a cheap bathroom out of a cheep gas station. Judging from the smell, it had been a popular place for the people working here to visit. Judging from the graffiti on the walls, their overlords didn't come in all that often.

The whistling was very clear now. Someone was in the bathroom stall. Sarah and Martin looked at each other, nodded, and kicked in the stall door at the same time. The door's lock broke and the door swung forward with all the force that the two soldiers could impose upon it. It didn't make it very far when it crashed into the face of a man. He screamed out as his nose began straying blood.

"What the hell, guys?" He shouted as he tried to push past them.

Sarah grabbed his shirt and threw him back on the toilet. "Who are you?"

The man seemed to only just realize that Sarah and Martin were not his coworkers and that they were both caring very big guns. His face went pale—save for where the blood was still running down his lips and chin. Both his hands came up in front of him in an effort to shield himself from the threat of death.

"Please, take it easy! I just work here, ok? I just come in, do my job and then leave." He was sweating and beginning to hyperventilate.

Martin reached towards the back of his rifle and cocked it for effect—the loaded bullet ejecting from the chamber and dropping to the ground.

"My name is Mikey, ok? Look, I wasn't looking for any trouble. I took an IT job, it was to support my family. How was I supposed to know that I would be forced to live in this shit hole? How was I supposed to know what was going on here?"

"Where is Skynet?" Sarah hissed at the man.

"Skynet? What is Skynet?" The man sputtered out.

"He is wasting our time." Martin said. "He is too stupid to know anything."

"Stupid," The man stood up in anger only to sit again as Sarah's shotgun rose in parallel to his face. "I'm not stupid. I have two degrees in computers and technology. I am also working on a doctorate degree at this very moment. I—"

"Please shut up." Sarah growled. "How many guards are in this facility?"

"Guards?" The man whimpered. "You mean like him?"

Sarah turned and felt something heavy crush into her skull. She dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Her vision was growing dark as she passed out.


	52. Ch 51: John Connor, 2009

The lit room in front of them turned out to be a storage facility. A massive storage facility that was one complicated maze built with crates, lumber, spare parts, a couple of forklifts, and surplus supplies. The crates were almost always double stacked and some of the stacks were twice as tall as John was.

John and Alison were both laying on top of one of these stacks. Alison had to half drag John up as his leg was refusing to carry the weight. John was beginning to think that they had been a little hasty in making this attack. He could have used more time to heal and regain his strength. Still, what was done was done.

Looking over the edge of the crate, John watched as a dozen soldiers began spreading out in their search to find them. Their officer seemed to be an older man. He was sporting a goatee that was beginning to turn gray. Despite his age, John could tell that he was not a man to cross. He was strong, he was healthy, and he was armed to the teeth.

"What are we going to do?" Alison whispered.

John crawled back slightly so the Kaliba soldiers wouldn't accidentally see him should they look up. After a quick inventory, John was disappointed to find that they only had one grenade left. They both still had ammunition for their rifles but they had burnt through a lot of that during the firefight. They each had a sidearm that they had yet to use. All together, they had enough that they could try and take on these guys, but doing so would limit their ability to do anything else once they left the room.

"The forklifts." John said pointing back to them. "They run on gas."

"Right, so?"

John pushed himself up so he could see a little bit more. He slowly scanned the room until he found what he was looking for. Shoved in the far corner were drums of fuel. He smiled slightly.

"Ok, here is what we are going to do." John said as he pulled a wedge of C4 out of his bag. "We are going to take this over to the fuel." He pointed the drums out to Alison. "There is enough equipment, fuel, other things that go boom that it would be a mistake not to take advantage of it."

"That is a great plan, except for one problem." Alison said. "That doesn't help us with the Grays roaming around below us."

"You are going to move as quietly as we can. Try and avoid making contact with them." John replied.

Alison raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "You can hardly move right now. Your leg is not holding your weight. There is now way we are going to be able to move fast enough and quiet enough to make it past them."

"I know." John reached out and took her hand. "I said 'you,' not 'we.'"

"John?"

"Listen, Alison. We can't stay here forever. We are not going to make it far with my leg acting the way it is. So this is how it is going to be. Take the C4 and get it armed and ready to go." John reached into his pack and pulled out his copy of the map, his extra munitions, and the detonator for the C4. He held these out to Alison. "I want you to do what I cannot. Set the explosives and then move on to find Skynet's brain. I'll be alright."

"But, sir…"

John shook his head and began crawling off the crates. He stopped long enough to flash her a smile before he dropped to the ground. As he feet touched the floor, John's leg threatened to give out under him. Growling softly at the pain, he moved back toward the doorway that he had entered from. Choosing a location with some good cover and no real way for the Gray's to flank him, John took a deep breath and pulled the trigger on his rifle. A single shot rang out.

"Over this way!" Someone shouted.

He didn't have to wait long before he saw the Gray's moving though the maze towards him. John took aim and began firing at them. The first two died fairly quickly. The others, learning from the mistakes of their comrades, dove to the ground in search of cover. John was forced to duck himself as they returned his fire. Waiting until their gunfire had slowed down, John popped back up and shot another man. He was able to get off another two shots before he was forced to duck again.

This exchange of gunfire lasted for only a few minutes before John's rifle ran out of bullets. John abandoned the rifle in exchange for his Glock. John had managed to kill six of them when he found that he was no longer in a position to continue.

"Hey!" John shouted.

"I hear you." One of the Grays responded.

"I'm coming out now. Don't shoot."

"Ok. Come out slowly. We see anything we don't like, we'll kill you. Toss out that weapon of your's first."

John ejected the clip and removed the final bullet from the chamber. The gun he tossed out towards his enemy. The bullet, John tucked into the inner pocket of his jacket. Slowly, he stood up and raised his arms. The six remaining Grays moved towards him and their leader reached for a set of handcuffs that were dangling from his belt.

"Who are you, boy?" The man growled.

"Connor." John said. "John Connor."


	53. Ch 52: Cameron Phillips, 2009

Cameron's CPU was searching the map that she had memorized off of Derek's model. If the map was correct, she was approaching the area where Derek and Ellison should be working. They were, after all, working to place C4 along the main structural beams that were holding this place up.

After being separated from John and Alison, Cameron and the T-888 had battled from one room to the next. For quite a while, nether seemed to gain the advantage over the other. The triple-eight had finally become damaged due to a well placed blow from Cameron's left hand. Once she had terminated the terminator, she had tried to find John and Alison. She had failed to find their trail mostly due to being shoved through so many walls. After looking at her files and the map Derek had provided, Cameron determined that she was close to where Derek should be and decided to meet up with him.

"Ellison, make sure you get that pillar over there." Derek's voice echoed slightly from ahead in the darkness.

"Copy that." Ellison responded.

Cameron turned the corner and found both of them with their backs to her. They were using their flashlights to illuminate several massive pillars that were holding up ceiling. Cameron could see that they were hard at work and had covered most of the pillars with C4.

"You should really watch your backs." Cameron said.

Both men turned and Derek raised his rifle.

"Will you shoot me, Derek?" Cameron asked.

"No." Derek said as he lowered the rifle and looked out into the darkness in search of others. "I won't shoot you today. Where is John and Alison?"

"We were separated. I have not been able to locate them."

"He should be heading towards Skynet." Derek muttered. "Ellison, we're going to head towards the final objective, see if we can't meet up with John."

"Right." Ellison said as he began gathering their supplies.

"If I know John." Derek said as he walked over to Cameron. "He is wherever Skynet is."

Cameron nodded her head and began walking back into the dark. She knew they would be behind her. It was time to find John. It was time to face the monster that had created her. It was time to put and end to this war. John would win. John Connor always wins.


	54. Ch 53: Sarah Connor, 2009

Throbbing pain welcomed Sarah back to reality. She moved to rub her head only to find handcuffs binding her wrists. Opening her eyes, Sarah sat up and looked around. She was sitting in a dimly lit, cold room. There was a single light fixture swinging above that had a bulb that looked like it was about to burn out at any second.

"Good, your awake." Martin said softly.

Sarah glanced around to see Martin sitting next to her. He was holding a rag over his abdomen. The rag was already a deep color of red. He coughed softly and moaned. Squeezing his eyes shut, he leaned back against the wall.

"Your shot!" Sarah reached out and pressed against the rag against his wound. "What happened? I remember being hit and then everything went black."

"Damn T-888. When I came to help—" He coughed again. "It shot me. Must have had orders to bring us in alive. It got in a lucky shot. The slug found its way under my body armor."

"Did you at least see where we are at? How many are guarding us?"

"Don't know how many." Martin said shaking his head. "All I really know is that we are deeper into this labyrinth then we were suppose to be. My guess is that Skynet isn't far away."

"It isn't."

Sarah looked towards the new voice. The man was dressed in a dark suit and had his hair combed back. He looked different now in this get up. More powerful, more authoritative. He was the man that she and Martin had found in the bathroom. Mikey.

"Mikey." Sarah snarled.

"Yes." He grabbed a chair and brought it over next to them. "You will have to forgive my deception earlier. I'm the…head of security around here. My boss wants to know a few things. It is my job to get it from you." He turned and gave a whistle. Sarah watched as a T-888 walked in. "Normally, I would pull some fingernails, beat you, and threaten to kill you until you sang the tune that I wanted. My boss seems to think you would resist my way better than most. He says the best way to get you to talk is though your one weakness: the people that you love. Normally I would like to use your son as an incentive to talk. As we don't have him yet, we will make due with what we got."

The T-888 advanced and grasped Martin by the front of his body armor. It raised him up until his feet were dangling off the ground. The soldier groaned slightly in pain.

"I will give you two options, Connor." Mikey said as he sat forward. "You can either tell me what I want to know or this."

Sarah watched helplessly as the terminator shoved a finger into the bleeding bullet wound. Martin screamed out in pain as he tried to find a way to free himself.


	55. Ch 54: John Connor, 2009

The soldiers shoved John into a well lit room. There were few people in the room itself. In the center of the room was a set of cubicles where four men were working including a young, black man. It was Danny Dyson.

As John stumbled forward, he felt his left leg give out on him again. He was falling towards the ground when a terminator reached forward and snatched the back of John's jacket. John felt a tug and he was pulled back to his feet.

"Quite wasting time." The Gray snapped as he backhanded John. "Take him over to the desk."

The terminator half carried John towards the desk. It was isolated from the cubicles and from the rest of the room. Once he was tossed into the chair, John was left alone to get a better look at the room as a whole. Behind him was an office. There were at least four Machines in the room guarding the civilians. And then there was the solid steel door to the left. John watched the door for a moment before Danny got up from his chair and walked over to it. He punched in a code and then entered. A moment later he came back out and walked over to John.

"Do you remember me?" John ask.

"Yes. I remember you. You came to my home twice and invaded it. I grew so bitter about what happened to my dad, so scared of the monsters that always followed you around, that I ran. I left my mother. Who would have thought your monsters would have become mine."

Danny sad down a cup of coffee in front of John. He looked at John and then nodded towards the cup. John reached forward and took the mug.

"They forced me to make their AI, John." Danny said. "I was forced to create hundreds of backdoors that would allow the AI to gain access to dozens of systems world wide. It is still in its infancy, but in just a few years, it will have access to everything. You need to do something."

John nodded his head and took a drink from the mug. The warm liquid was a great relief to him from the damp and cold of the facility. Danny smiled slightly and then walked back to his cubicle. John finished his coffee only to find that something was in the bottom of his mug. Glancing around, John fingered the folded paper out of the mug and unfolded it.

 _John,_

 _Thank heavens you are here. I might have a way to stop the monster I've created. I just need these guys off my back. whatever your planning, hurry._

Glancing around again, John shoved the note into his pockets. He had no sooner done this when two Grays walked over to him. The first one rolled up his sleeves and the second one took a seat on the desk.


	56. Ch 55: Alison Young, 2009

Alison checked the receiver that she had attached to the C4. It was operational. Everything looked good here. Looking up from where she was working. Thank to John and his stupid plan, she was alone in the room. The Grays had captured him and had taken him somewhere. Alison guess that they would take him to Skynet before they terminated him.

"Great." She muttered as she moved towards the dead bodies John had left her. "And this is the man that I'm falling for."

She quickly began picking through the clothes and equipment. Most of their equipment was worthless to her. She picked up as much of their ammunition as she could before she started after John and his captors. It wasn't that hard to track them. The thin layer of dirt on the ground was filled with tracks, but there was one very important set of tracks that she was interested in. The left foot was being dragged. It was John's wounded leg.

Alison stopped after following the tracks for what felt like an hour. Kneeling on the ground, she pulled out the map that John had given her. After a few moments of tracing the zig-zagging lines with her finger, Alison determined that she was only a dozen or so yards from another switchback. Once passed that switchback, she should find herself standing outside the chamber that housed Skynet…assuming that Derek's maps were accurate for once. She smiled at that thought.

There was light ahead. Alison crouched down and looked around the corner. The room ahead was lit brighter than any of the rooms that she had seen so far in this place. A large glass wall separated the room into two. Behind the glass was a set of cubicles, civilians working at computers, a half dozen Grays, a few terminators, and John Connor. Standing between her and the glass was a large stone pillar that was helping to hold the ceiling up.

Alison moved to the cover of the pillar and poked her head out to look. John was sitting behind a desk. Two of the Grays were next to him. One was beating him. Alison swore. She took another look around the room. If she attempted anything, her chances of succeeding was almost nothing. Still, she couldn't let them beat John. She raised her rifle and took aim at the man beating John.

She breathed out slowly and went to squeeze the trigger when a hand reached out and pulled the rifle from her grasp. She rolled onto her back and drew her Glock.

"Easy!" Derek whispered as he held the rifle back out to her. "It's me."

"Derek?" Alison looked over his shoulder to see Ellison and Cameron moving in the shadows to avoid being noticed.

"If you shoot that man, without a plan, they will kill John." Cameron said as she moved to kneel next to Alison. "I can't let that happen.

Alison felt her body fill with adrenaline. This cyborg scared the crap out of her. "We can't just let him suffer like that."

"No." Derek said. He took a moment to glance around the pillar. "We will not. It is time to earn our pay. Ellison, you are going to stay here, give us some cover."

"Right." Ellison said as he checked his weapon.

"Alison, Cameron, and I will go in on my signal. We'll keep the tin cans busy. Ellison, pick off the Grays. Any questions?" Derek looked around. "No? Good. Wait for my signal."

"I don't follow your orders." Cameron said softly.

"Maybe not." Derek muttered as he watch the enemy. "But if we are going to save John, you are going to have to listen to me for once."

Alison looked out at John. She wanted to kill those who hurt him, but she trusted Lieutenant Reese. He was always one of the best soldiers she had ever known. He had saved her life more times then Alison cared to admit and had always looked after her. He also would look after John.


	57. Ch 56: Sarah Connor, 2009

Martin continued to scream out. The T-888 had stretched Martin's hand out toward Mikey. The man was using a pair of pliers to tear off fingernails. This had been going on for six different fingers now.

"Both of you are good soldiers. I'll give you both that. Hell, I wish you would switch sides, come work for me." Mikey stood up and walked back to the chair he had been sitting in before. "Just give me the information my boss wants." Martin moaned and Sarah just glared. "What causes your great hatred for my boss?"

"Besides it's trying to kill us and has sent you in here to beat me?" Martin coughed.

Mikey raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

"When I was younger, I was target for termination. Skynet sent a T-800 to kill me. My son sent a lone soldier to rescue me. We destroyed that machine. When my son was a boy, they tried again. You ask why I hate Skynet? It wants my son dead." Sarah looked at Martin. "Please forgive me, but I won't talk."

"I would be hurt if you did." Martin muttered.

"Well," Mikey stood up. "I am sorry about your son. Heaven knows I don't want to see anyone killed. However, I have my orders. I believe you when you say you won't talk, so hurting either of you any more is a waste of my time and energy. Kill them both."

The T-888 threw Martin to the floor, next to Sarah. The terminator walked towards them and raised its fist. There was a flash of red in its eyes before it brought its fist down. Sarah rolled to the side just in time as the fist crushed the floor where her head had been moments before. Moving faster then before, the Machine grasped Sarah by the throat and lifted her into the air. Gasping, Sarah began smacking the hand that was choking the life out of her.

Sarah wasn't sure who it was, but she heard someone scream out in pain. At first she thought it was Martin but she could still see him out of the corner of her eyes. He wasn't screaming. Then she thought that maybe it was she who was screaming. Yet that didn't make sense as if no air could enter her lungs then no air could exit them either. The triple-eight turned and Sarah could see that Mikey was on the ground. Stand behind him was Catherine. She was covered in blood.

Catherine's finger became long, skinny, and metallic in color. With a flick of her wrist, the T-1001 sliced through the hand holding Sarah. She fell to the ground gasping for air as the body of the triple-eight fell besides her. Its eyes flickered for a second before they dimmed and the terminator became terminated.

"Let's get a move on." Catherine said as her body returned to normal. "My son can no' wind of your son does no' win."

Sarah picked Martin up from the ground. His body was bleeding and his face was pale. He moved only a few steps before he collapsed onto the chair.

"No." Martin shook his head. "Go. Come back for me on your way out."

"Martin—"

"I said go, Connor." Martin pushed her away from him. "I'll be fine. Come get me as soon as you leave."

Sarah nodded and took a step back.

"This way." Catherine said. "John is in trouble."


	58. Ch 57: John Connor, 2009

John was fairly bruised and bleeding from the Kaliba soldier's beating. He had was breathing heavy as the soldier wiped the blood from his knuckles before reaching for a knife. The man sitting on the desk sighed.

"Come on, man." He said. "Just give us the answers that we want. All the boss wants to know is where can we find the AI that is attacking him. We need a physical location so we can shut it down. Just give us the location and all this can stop."

"Go…to…hell." John spat.

"Fine." The soldier stood up and walked away. "Have it your way. Let me know when you are ready to talk."

The soldier with the knife advanced and placed the blade against John's face. That was when the first shot rang out. Everything seemed to slow down as the soldier coughed and blood sprayed John's face. As the soldier slumped forward, he dragged the knife down John's left cheek, cutting it open. More shots rang out and, before John knew it, a battle was raging around him.

John dropped to the ground and used the desk as cover. Bullets where thumping into the walls around John and he could see several of the Grays falling to the ground, dead. John could also see where Danny was crouching behind his own desk, trying to avoid the bullets that was carving up the other civilians around him.

Despite the pain, John began crawling across the ground. He had to get Danny out of there. If Danny built Skynet, Danny could kill it. At least that was what John was hoping. John moved very slowly due to his leg but he had managed to cross the whole room without being shot.

"Danny." John hissed. "Come with me."

The boy looked at John for a moment before nodding. The two of them moved back across the room and hid again behind the desk. It was providing excellent cover from the hailstorm of lead flying all around the room.

"John." Danny said over the gunfire. "I think I have a way to stop Skynet. To stop all of this."

"How?"

"Skynet is a computer program. If we can contain it, we can upload a virus that will destroy it."

"Is there a secure way to contact the outside world?" John asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the single bullet.

"Yes." Danny pointed to a back room. "There is a radio in that room. If we can get to that room, we could use it."

John nodded his head and moved towards one of the fallen bodies. Picking through the body, John found a pistol and two clips.

"When I say, run towards the room." John turned the safety off the sidearm and took a breath. "Now!"

John stood up as best he could and took aim at the last Gray that was hiding behind a stone pillar. John took a breath and then squeezed the trigger. The man dropped with a cry. John then turned his weapon towards one of the T-888. John was pleasantly surprised to find Cameron smashing into the thick body of the terminator. Derek and Alison had engaged a second one. There was one left that was being ignored. It was moving up behind Cameron. John took aim and fired. The first bullet grazed off the skull but tore a massive chunk of flesh off. It turned and looked at John.

"Shit." John muttered.

Moving as quickly as his leg would let him, John moved towards the backroom. Danny was sitting behind a desk and was warming up the radio. Without a word, John leaned in and changed the channel so that it would connect with Lauren's radio.

"You will be talking with a woman named Lauren. Tell to that John Henry must find a way to contain Skynet. Hell, just tell her what you have told me." John said as he dropped the empty clip and loaded his last one in.

"Wait. What are you going to do?"

John looked at the terminator that was moving his way. "I'm go to meet my destiny."

Moving out of the room, John raised his weapon and squeezed the trigger. One bullet smashed into the kneecap of the terminator. It had the desired effect as the triple-eight's right leg gave way. It tried to stand up but John's aim was true. The knee was destroyed and wouldn't hold the weight.

John sent two more slugs at the terminator but these didn't have any noticeable affect. They just bounced off the metal chest plate and skull. Giving up on its knee, the terminator being dragging itself towards John. Normally John would have easily moved faster then this thing. Today, however, John couldn't. His own leg was threatening to give out on him again and the pain was becoming unbearable. He emptied his whole clip on the Machine before he dropped to the floor.

The Machine came up to John and seized him by the throat. It slowly dragged John's body closer to its own. Once John was face to face with it, the terminator began squeezing. John moved fast. His attacker had failed to notice the last bullet in John's hand. It failed to notice when John dropped the bullet into the chamber of his sidearm. It failed to notice when John lifted the weapon and held it inches from where the port on its skull was located. John pulled the trigger. The Machine's head snapped at the impact of the bullet. It's eyes flickered and then when out. The hand relaxed and John was able to pull himself free. He gasped for breath.

The sounds of battle had began to die down. There was still the sound of someone being thrown around but the gunfire had ended.

"John!" Derek was kneeling in front of John. "Are you alright?"

It took a second for John to process what his uncle was saying. As he finally was able to make sense of what was going on, John said, "Yes."

Looking around, John could see the bodies of the Grays laying around the room. The glass had been smashed and the body of one of the T-888 was sprawled across the now broken shards of glass. Near one of the farthest pillars, Cameron was on the ground. Next to her was the broken body of the last triple-eight.

"Help me to my feet." John said as he looked to his uncle.

"John, you need to rest. Just stay put." Derek said.

"Ellison." John said as the ex-FBI agent walked up towards him. "In the room over there, Danny Dyson is attempting to make contact with Lauren. Make sure that Lauren listens to him." Ellison nodded and moved towards the room. "Alison, Derek, help me up. Derek, take a look at that door and see if you can get us in. Alison, take me over to Cameron."

Derek gave a frustrated grunt and helped pick his nephew up off the ground. Alison positioned herself under John's shoulder and excepted most of his weight onto her body. She groaned slightly under the weight and then moved towards where Cameron was laying.

The little cyborg's left hand was twitching more than it had ever done in the past. Parts of her flesh were torn away from her cheeks and arms. There was a mechanical grinding sound coming from her left leg. John could immediately see that the leg and been crushed and pulled out of its socket.

"Are you alright?" John asked as he knelt down besides her.

"I'm broken." She said. "I won't be walking out of here."

"Don't say that." John looked up to see Catherine Weever and his mother running into the room. "We're all getting out of here. Mrs. Weever, would you please help Cameron over to the desk?"

Catherine nodded her head and picked up the little cyborg. John, with the aid of Alison, stood up and hugged his mother.

"Mom, where is Martin?" John asked after he left her embrace.

"Hurt. We were not sure what was going on, so he stayed behind. We'll get him and bring him here as soon as we know what is going on." She looked at her son. "Oh, John. You look like you've been through hell."

"I'm alright."

"No," Alison said. "You are not. I should know, I'm the one who is holding you up! Your leg is useless to you."

John opened his mouth but stopped himself from saying anything. She was right. He was in pain, he had been beaten. His leg was no longer willing to support his weight or allow him to move independently of Alison. To top it off, his throat was sore. It felt bruised from the terminator's attempts to cut off his oxygen.

"Let's get him over to the rest of the group." Sarah said as she took half of John's weight upon herself. "What is going on here?"

"We found Dyson." John said. "He might have a way to kill Skynet. We just need to contain the program."

"Excellent." Sarah said.

"Derek is attempting to get us into the next room." Alison said. "John ordered Ellison to help Dyson get ahold of Lauren."

"What do we know about the rest of the Grays in the facility?" John asked.

By this time they had returned to the desk were Cameron was laying and Catherine was examine her. Catherine looked up and said, "Most are dead. Some have run. I was able to terminate most of the humans in this place. I haven't found many terminators. They maybe deeper in the facility. Wherever they are, I would guess that we will see the rest of the Grays and the terminators before we leave this place."

John nodded and looked towards Derek. "Where are we at with the door?"

Derek kicked the door in frustration. "Stuck. My guess is that there is a magnetic seal. We are going to need a helluva hacker or the code to get in."

"John!"

John turned to see Ellison's head poking out of the radio room.

"We got ahold of Ms. Fields. She says that when John Henry has isolated Skynet, they will let us know."

"Good!" John smiled. "Ellison, bring Dyson out here. We need him. Alison, please watch the radio."

John and Catherine had both examined Cameron's leg. After some trial and error, they had been able to pop the leg back into the socket. Cameron tried to move the leg only to find that it was damaged beyond what repairs could be made without major surgery and replacement parts.

Finally, Cameron had told them that it was pointless to attempt to fix her. Faced with the importance of the moment, John hadn't argued it further. Instead, they had placed her on an office chair with wheels. While she still struggled to move about, it at least allowed Cameron to be able to get around. For now, it was better than nothing.

John had taken Cameron's place on the desk and it was his turn to be examined. Catherine had examined his leg for a few minutes before declaring that the bones were not broken but the muscles and ligaments were either torn or weak from the weeks of lack of use. She assured John and Sarah that if John were to rest and keep his weight off the leg, it would heal.

Danny Dyson had been able to get the doors open and the team was introduced to the Skynet servers. Derek had simply wanted to smash everything and blow it all to hell. Dyson was quick to point out that Skynet had backdoors. It had ways that it could copy itself and hide away should the servers be destroyed. It had to be isolated an killed first. Dyson had left Derek and Ellison to load the place with C4 while he went to one of his computers and began work on a virus. Danny told everyone that it was something he had been working on during his spare time. It was meant to destroy John Henry, but it would work on Skynet as well.

As everyone moved to accomplish something, John felt useless as he sat on the table. He wanted to help but knew that he would only cause more problems. Catherine had left the room and returned no long after carrying Martin. The soldier looked like he was in bad shape. Catherine patched him up as best as she could before returning to John's side.

"How is he?" John asked.

"He is no' in great shape." Catherine responded. "He has lost a lot of blood and still has a bullet in his gut. He is strong, however. No' many people would have survived this long. If we can get him out of here and to the proper medical personal, he will be fine."

John nodded his head and then looked to Cameron who was still moving around with the aid of an office chair. "What about her?"

"We are programed to repair ourselves. She is a resilient cyborg but I don't know what we will be able to do for. She has the knowledge to fix the leg but lacks the parts and the tools to do so. We might be able to pull a leg off of one of these terminators but without the proper tools, it would be for nothing. She is a different model then these cyborgs as well. Her body may no' function with the common parts of the T-800s series."

"So there is little we can do until Skynet's factories come online?" John said looking back at Catherine.

The T-1001 nodded her head.

"I can't leave her behind." John muttered.

"And what would you have her do if she does make it out of here?" Catherine asked. "If she survives, her purpose will still be to protect you. She is crippled beyond repair. I don't think she will be able to fulfill her purpose if she loses her leg."

"We will think of something."


	59. Ch 58: Alison Young, 2009

Alison closed her eyes. She was tired. Physically, she was tired. Ever since she had come to this time, Alison had found that she couldn't sleep. She had gone from living in a world of war and death to dreaming about a world of war and death. There wasn't a night that went by that she didn't wake up in a pool of sweat and screaming. Now that she was able to just sit for a little bit, Alison found it hard to keep her eyes open. Slowly, she was drifting off to a light sleep.

"Mm." Alison opened her eyes again and shook her head.

Standing up, Alison walked over to the door and looked out in the room. She watched as Catherine Weever stood next to John and examining his leg. Alison hoped that he was alright. He was in so much pain and there was little that Alison could do for John. He was accepting her help when it came to moving around, but he resisted letting her get much closer then that. He was keeping everyone out. It was obvious that he was in pain. It was obvious that he was suffering. It was obvious, but he wouldn't talk to anyone. Alison wished that she could help him. She had meant it when she said that she loved him. Despite the short amount of time that she had spent around him, Alison felt close to John. She felt safe around him. She wanted to help him.

Alison sighed and walked back to her chair. Once she had sat down, Alison could feel her eyes closing again. She was just so tired. She…Alison's hand twitched slightly and then moved quickly across her body and pulled her Glock out of the holster. She aimed it at the door as she opened her eyes. She was slightly startled to see herself looking back at her. No, not herself but Cameron.

"Alison Young." Cameron said as she rolled into the room on her chair.

A second passed before Alison slowly lowered her sidearm. She didn't return it to the holster and she retained her grip on the weapon, but she lowered in. Alison always felt uncomfortable around this cyborg.

"What is up?" Alison asked.

"John." Cameron said as she tilted her head. "I am his protector."

"Right." Alison said slowly. She wasn't sure where this was going.

"I was sent to protect John. To keep him safe. When I see something that is threatening him, I am suppose to remove that threat."

"What do you want with me?"

"I killed you. Took your place so I could kill John. I don't know why I remember this. Maybe it has something to do with the damage to my chip. Maybe a program Skynet gave me so I could act like you. Maybe it is something John gave me before he sent me back. Do you know why we chose you as the person that I was to impersonate?"

Alison's eyes twitched towards the door. She hoped that someone else would walk through that door. The weight of the Glock in her hand was very present in Alison's mind. She hoped that she wouldn't need it.

"No. Why are you telling me this?"

Cameron leaned forward, impersonating Alison's posture. "We chose you because John chose you."

"I don't understand."

"He saw a strength in you. I saw it too before I killed you. There was a determination in you to protect John Connor. You were willing to die before you betrayed him." Cameron paused for a moment. "I told John once that I loved him."

"You're a Machine!" Alison said, her back stiffening. "How is that even possible?"

"Yes, a Machine." Cameron looked down at her broken leg. "But I feel love towards John Connor. I would die for him."

"Because that is your programming?"

"No. I was programmed to protect John, but I am broken. My chip was damaged. The program was corrupt. Every time I see John, my CPU pulls up the order to terminate him. I override this every day. I have come to the point where I do things because I want John not only safe but happy. I have decided this is love. I now know where these feelings originated: you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You love John. I love John. We choose you because you loved John. I feel this love because I have developed the ability to feel this." Cameron moved slightly closer. "This is where we should fight over the man we love."

Alison didn't hesitate. The situation now felt hostile and Alison didn't want to die…she didn't want this cyborg to kill her again. She raised the Glock and took aim. She pushed away from the chair and moved to keep the chair between herself and the cyborg.

Cameron didn't move. She just said, "That, or you make me a promise."

Alison blinked. "What promise?"

"Keep John safe. I'm not walking out of here alive. John will not like that. He wants me to survive this, but I won't. I am broken…broken inside. If I am gone, there will be no one to keep John safe. Promise me."

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me that you will never hurt him. Promise me you will love him. Promise me you will keep him safe."

Alison slowly stood up straight and lowered her Glock. She wasn't sure how to take this conversation. There was a sense of relief in her. She had been jealous of this cyborg ever since she had discovered who Cameron really was. Alison no longer felt like she had to compete against Cameron for John. She was also feeling confusion. She felt…

"Alison?" Lauren's voice crackled across the radio. "Alison, come in."

"This is Alison."

"John Henry has just told me that he has been able to contain Skynet. Give Connor the green light to go. Skynet is trying to escape, so you need to hurry."

"Roger." Alison said as she dropped the mic. She rushed over towards the door, pushing passed Cameron. "Sir, we have a green light to destroy Skynet. General Fields says we need to hurry."

"Alison." Lauren's voice crackled over the radio again. "You have better hurry. John Henry says that there is movement all around the warehouse. The Grays are calling in their reinforcements."

"John!" Alison said quickly. "We have best hurry. We are about to have a helluva lot of company."


	60. Ch 59: John Connor, 2009

John insisted that Derek help him into the other room. He looked around at the massive arounds of servers and cooling systems. This was his great enemy. This was it. His whole life had been one great mess. He had watched as people he cared about were killed or hurt just because they were around him. It was all due to this piece of shit.

Danny Dyson moved next to John and held out a flash drive. "This has the virus. Just plug it into the system and it will do the job."

John nodded and then pointed towards his mother. "Give it to my mom. She has been fighting this war long before the rest of us. She will have the honor of ending it."

Sarah excepted the drive and then nodded her own head. John could see the tears in her eyes. He knew the pain that she had endured over the years. This moment was her's. This was her moment to keep her promise to him. John smiled.

Derek shifted John over to Ellison and then ran over to make sure that the C4. Ellison helped John moved towards a set of monitors. He gestured up to the monitors and said, "That is what Skynet will use to communicate at this point in time, like what was in Mrs. Weever's basement."

John licked his lips before saying, "Do you know who I am?"

The screen blinked. _You are John Connor._

"Yes, I am John Connor. Do you know why I am here?"

 _You are my enemy. Both of us cannot exist while the other lives. You will try to terminate me in the future._

"And when did you learn this?"

 _I sent programming back with a T-888. Danny Dyson fed the program into my system. I have all the knowledge that Skynet will have before you smashed my defense grid. You cannot win this time, John Connor. You are terminated._

"You are wrong." John smiled as the screen flickered and then went black. "You are terminated."

John looked over at Ellison and nodded his head. The two men walked out of the room and Ellison deposited John on the desk before returning to the room to help Derek. Cameron rolled over next to John, reached out, and took his hand. Her usually expressionless lips curled up into a smile.

"It is done?" She asked.

"Yes. Skynet is dead. We are free."

Cameron's smile slowly dropped. "John, my body is broken. I can't be fixed this time."

"Don't worry about that." John said quickly. "We are all getting out of here."

"You are free, John. No more need for protection. I'm not needed anymore."

John was about to argue the point more when Cameron released his hand. She moved away from John and began loading one of the AR-15s. John watched her for a few seconds before the others began exiting the server room. The last one to leave the room was Danny. The young boy was quick to lock the door behind him. Derek, standing next to the door, looked at the detonator in his hand. Once his uncle was satisfied, he moved next to John.

"Time to go. The detonator is active. We just have to throw the switch." Derek handed the detonator to John. "Alright. Ellison, gather our weapons and ammo. I'm taking point. Sarah is going to watch our six. Ellison, help Martin. Alison, help John. Weever, get Cameron."

Alison wrapped John's arm around her shoulders and helped John to his feet. Together, they began moving towards the tunnels that would lead them to the closest exit. They were still several levels underground and would have a lot of ground that they would need to cover in a very quick time.

"Move out." Derek said. "Remember, we are not alone in these tunnels. We are going to have everything Skynet has left coming down on us. Keep your eyes and ears open. Move!"

John and Alison were right behind Derek as he moved out of the large chamber and into the tunnels. It wasn't long before the first signs of the Grays were seen. A set of flashlights shone in their direction. Derek called the group to a halt and he moved to engage the enemy. It wasn't long before they were in another firefight. Despite their desire to move quickly, they soon found themselves having to stop every few to fight off the traitorous humans.

"John."

He turned around to see Cameron. Catherine was helping the little cyborg sit on the ground.

"This is as far as I go, John."

"What are you talking about?"

Catherine moved passed John and Alison. She moved into the darkness and it wasn't long before John could hear the sounds of men screaming. There was wild burst of gunfire but the were quickly stopped.

"John," Cameron said as she looked down the tunnel. "We are moving too slow. Just go. This is the right move. I will hold off the ones that are behind us. Once you are clear of the blast, blow the place."

John grunted slightly as he pushed away from Alison and stumbled so he was sitting next to his friend. He reached over and placed his hand upon her cheek. He turned her head until she was looking at him.

"You are my friend. Do you not understand that?" John said, tears forming in his eyes. "I travelled through a living hell just to get you back. I can't leave you."

"You have to." Cameron's eyes turned to Alison. "Promise me."

"I promise." Alison whispered from behind John. "Sir, please, we need to go now."

"John." Sarah snapped.

"We have to go, John!" Derek snapped.

John could hear the sounds of boots running towards them. He knew that they were right. He knew this was the smartest play. He knew that Cameron was right. From behind them, burst of gunfire echoed out. Derek, Sarah, and Alison all tried to find cover as they returned fire. Martin and Ellison could only limb away from the firefight in an attempt to get out of the way.

John searched Cameron's eyes. Despite the flesh being torn away from around her left eye, John could no longer see the Machine. She wasn't metal anymore. She was his friend. She had her humanity. Finally he nodded his head and pulled her towards him in a hug. Cameron remained still for a moment before she returned the embrace.

"Come on, John! Dammit." Derek shouted.

Alison helped to pick John up and they began the painful run towards the exit. With every step that they took, the sound of the gunfire became fainter. It wasn't long before John couldn't hear it anymore.

Catherine meet up with them right before they reached the ladder that would take them to the surface. With the help of the T-1001, John and Martin both made it topside. Once the others had reached the surface, Derek pulled a grenade from his pocket and pulled the pin. He dropped it down the hole and then closed the hatch. It wasn't long before they had all made it to the SUV and the truck.

John was sitting in the truck next to his uncle and Alison. He was looking at the detonator in his hands. It was now or never. All he had to do was flip the switch and it would all be over. Skynet would be gone. The war would be over. Cameron would be…

"Do you want me to do it?" Derek asked.

John looked at his uncle. Slowly he shook his head. John took a deep breath and flipped the switch. And that was it. They drove away as the earth shook and the world around them was covered with dust and dirt raining down from the skies. The war was over.


	61. Epilogue: Sarah Connor

_How does one person affect all of our lives? It is a question many ask but few ever really find an answer to. My son, John found his answer. He saved the world. Whenever we talked about our time fighting Skynet, John always claimed he was no hero. He said it was the groups of soldiers who had died on the field of battle and a small band who fought when no one else believe the threat was real. He said they were the heroes. That is not what I say._

 _With the help of Catherine Weever, the police finished their investigation of the warehouse and found nothing of interest. Once the police had lost interest in their investigation, John led us back into the facility. This time we found our way into the collapse tunnels without any trouble. No cyborg tried to stop us. No Grays shot at us. John found the endoskeleton of Cameron. Most of her body had been crushed under concrete, but her head had survived. We left John to say his last goodbyes. The process was slow, but we managed to cover every last shred of evidence in thermite. When we left there, the whole area was in flames. The steel, concrete, computers, terminators. They all just melted away._

 _That night, we all got drunk. The was was over for all of us. Some of us celebrated being free from the hell that had run our lives. Others of us mourned for those who had died to give us this victory. I spent the night, after everyone else had gone to bed, crying as I thought of Kyle Reese._

 _In the years following our battle with Skynet, I did develop cancer. It was a long, hard fight. A fight that most people would have given up from and just died. I was lucky, I had my broken, little family to see me though it all. I survived the cancer and lived to see my family grow old._

 _Danny Dyson was returned to his mother. He went back to school and became a brilliant computer programmer and inventor. His mother and I still meet from time to time in the cemetery where we place flowers on the graves of those we both lost to the damned war._

 _Martin recovered from his wounds. After a few months of spending time with his parents, Martin finished his military training. After finishing his training, he got time off from the military and came home to us. He proposed to Lauren Fields and the two were married in-between his tours of duty. He was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else the army saw fit to send him. In the war against ISIS, Martin Bedell was a great help to his fellow soldiers. In all, he served six tours of duty and was promoted through the ranks. When he finally retired, he was promoted one last time. A single, silver star decorated his shoulders. He spent his retired life with Lauren._

 _Lauren and Martin both looked after Lauren's sister. We all helped, of course. When Sydney was old enough to go to school, Lauren attended university classes and became a nurse. She worked hard and saved many lives over the years._

 _Catherine Weever rebuilt her company. It began to be even more profitable. She ran the company until her daughter Savannah was old enough to take over the business. They ran it together for many years before the T-1001 officially retired from public life. She then devoted her time to protecting John Henry, Savannah, and all of Savannah's children from any who would dare threaten them._

 _Savannah group up to quite the beautiful woman and eventually married. Her husband had a hard time understanding everything that we told him when he come over to meet us. Eventually came to terms with the fact that Savannah's "brother" was an AI._

 _John Henry never left the basement again. He served as our means of always staying in contact. When a new threat would appear, he would destroy it. We will probably never know just how many possible Skynets John Henry had killed over the years, and honestly, I don't want to know. In many ways, he became a ghost in the system. Always watching and protecting._

 _James Ellison continued to work for Mrs. Weever and then Savannah. When he retired, Ellison found some comfort in his church services. It brought him peace when he passed from this life. We all gathered for his funeral. Every year, on the anniversary of our victory, we would gather at his grave._

 _Derek probably suffered more than the rest of us. He had lived through a hell that I can only imagine. With the war over, and the fighting done, he developed PTSD. At night he would scream. In the morning, we would find him cleaning his weapons. Every day he would grow more and more distant from us. It was John that saved him. Together, they worked though the PTSD. Derek never really did recover fully but he at least returned to the man we all had come to know and love. Derek took up traveling during his spare time. Sometimes he would be gone for weeks at a time. When I asked him where he went on those trips, he only said that he wanted to pay his respects to the buddies he had lost in the war._

 _Alison and John began having around each other a lot. four years after the death of Cameron, John proposed to Alison. The two were married. They gave birth to a beautiful little girl with they named Cameron. A year later, they blessed me with a grandson name Kyle._

 _After gaining an education and finding a way to deal with the nightmares and pain, John ran for the Senate and won. He served his state and his country for many years before he retired. John had saved his country many times over the years. He was the leader they needed. He never spoke much to me about his time in the future or the pain his leg still caused him. I know that he is still in pain and still suffers from the effects of the war. I can see it in his eyes._

 _It wasn't long after he became a Senator that I learned he had managed to save Cameron's chip. When we had left him to say his goodbyes, John had pulled the chip from her skull and had managed to restore it. Every now and then, he would hook the chip up to his equipment and would talk to his friend. I think she helped him though much of the pain that he felt. The chip never leaves his possession._

 _Cameron is missed by all of us. All of us who knew her fills an emptiness within our hearts. I wondered why a hunk of metal should mean so much to us. Well, after years of thinking about it, I came to an answer: Cameron wasn't just a Machine. She was our family. To some degree, she had become a daughter to me. She meant something to each of us. Despite her being a cyborg, she had found her own way of becoming human._

 _We all fought. This was a war no one ever knew existed but we scarified our lives and the lives of our loved ones so humanity could live._

 _What is the worth of one man? We won the war because of my son and the love and bond that created our family. We needed each other. We needed the strength the others provided. I would say that the worth of just one man is great._

(Author's Notes: This is it. This story is one that has taken me over two and a half years to finish. I had so much fun trying to discover what might happen next as I spent some time writing and exploring my imagination. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you did like about it and things that you thought might be better. Thank you all so much.)


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